


Perestroika

by blue_pointer



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Ant-Man (Movies), Captain America (Movies), Captain Marvel (2019), Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angry Bucky Barnes, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Childish Tony Stark, Dare, December 16th 1991, Domestic Fluff, Drug Use, I'm not a stripper, Jarvis with a shotgun, M/M, Meanwhile inside the Soul stone, Mental Health Awareness, NotMySteve, Panic Attacks, Rhodes with the T, Russos Steve, Spiderman meme, Spoilers, Time Travel, Toga Party, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark is a stalker, Tony loves cats, What the fuck Howard, WinterIron Spring Fling, borrowed vehicles, cousin Sharon, doing crimes, merry christmas you filthy animal, mugged for disguise, oo coffee, reluctant love interest, winteriron, workshop partners, you're not my dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-06 11:25:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19061686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_pointer/pseuds/blue_pointer
Summary: According to Doctor Strange's vision, Tony Stark is the only man who can save the universe from the Decimation. But who will save Tony Stark? Bucky must use the Time stone to travel to the past and make sure Tony makes it safely to 2023.(Endgame spoilers)





	1. Who the Hell Is Bucky?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InsaneJuliann](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsaneJuliann/gifts).



> Vladimir Arnold defines the main goal of singularity theory as describing how objects depend on parameters, particularly in cases where the properties undergo sudden change under a small variation of the parameters. These situations are called perestroika (Russian: перестройка), bifurcations or catastrophes. 
> 
> Wikipedia entry: Singularity Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trapped inside the Soul stone, our intrepid heroes come up with a strategy for defeating Thanos. A sacrifice will be required. Naturally, Bucky is everyone's first thought.

“So what happens?” Sam asks. “You’re the guy with all the answers, right, Doc? So tell us.” The group of lost heroes huddle around the strange man in the cape. There is nothing here: no landscape, no sky, no light, no dark. Nothing but each other.

“Our one chance is for them to travel back in time…” Strange begins to explain.

“Hold up, hold up,” Sam says. “If time travel was the answer, couldn’t you have done that with your pet rock?”

“It is not my path to travel in time. The Sorcerer Supreme is the _guardian_ of the stone.”

“Why not?” Luis asks. “Aren’t you like the super magic guy who can like--” To demonstrate, Luis poses in various magic-casting positions from popular film. “...expecto Corona or whatever?”

Strange looks intensely annoyed. “That is fantasy. This is reality.”

“I know one thing about our reality.” The king of Wakanda steps forward. “Your magic already failed us once. It is time to call upon older magics than yours.”

“Actually, there’s no historic evidence to prove--” Strange begins.

“Spare us your colonizer history lesson,” Ayo tells him.

Soon everyone is just arguing. Nothing is going to get done at this rate. And why won’t the big naked guy stop hugging Bucky? “Your majesty,” he says, squirming out of Drax’s hold for the fourth time. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Guard the perimeter, White Wolf,” T’Challa tells him. “Speak to your people. Keep them out of our ritual space. I must consult the ancestors.”

“Yes, my king.”

“Don’t look so serious,” Princess Shuri giggles at Bucky. “I think the scarred man really likes you.”

“Shuri!” T’Challa calls.

“Oh, I’m coming. Don’t be such a pain all the time.” The princess makes her apologies to her new American friend, who has been racing physics equations with her for fun. “Hopefully this won’t take too long.”

“Sure. No problem.” Peter glances up at Bucky, who is giving him the once-over. Bucky’s not sure T’Challa would approve of this kid from Queens so casually hanging out with the princess.

“Oh, hey!” Peter leaps to his feet. “I just wanted to say, I’m really sorry about that whole thing in Germany.  I mean, I’m not sorry I went, I’m just sorry for punching you and stuff.”

Bucky blinks. It’s the child in the pajamas from Leipzig. Holy shit, he looks even younger than he’d sounded behind the mask. “It’s fine,” Bucky says. “But maybe don’t fight superheroes just because Stark tells you to. You got your whole life ahead of you.”

“Does he?” Wanda asks. It’s understandable for her to be depressed and nihilistic right now, but even so. It’s really starting to annoy Bucky.

“Yeah.” Sam steps up behind Bucky. “‘Cause we’re getting out of here, right, Doc?” He glances over at Strange, who’s in some secret sorcerer huddle with a bunch of people in saffron robes.

A man with a kind face breaks from the sorcerer group and approaches Sam and Bucky. The kindly man takes a glance at the Wakandan ritual taking place behind Bucky, and Bucky tries to block his view; he’s been given orders. “My name is Wong,” he says. “I am the Librarian.” The man smiles. “And you’re James Barnes.”

“I am.” Bucky replies, wondering how the Librarian knows.

“Oh man, did you forget to return a library book or something?” Peter looks way more worried about this than Bucky does.

The Librarian hands Bucky a card, but it’s not a business card. When Bucky glances down, it has a picture on it of a man bound, hanging upside-down. “That’s the Hanged Man,” Sam says, angrily. He snatches it from Bucky’s fingers and tosses it back at the Librarian. “No dice, man.”

“A sacrifice must be made,” Wong explains.

“Well make it somewhere else,” Sam says. “He’s sacrificed enough.”

“Sam.” Bucky puts his hand on Sam’s shoulder. It’s touching that Sam would stand up for him like this, after everything. But Bucky doesn’t deserve it. “What’s the job?” he asks the sorcerer.

“Come with me,” Wong says.

“Not without me,” Sam insists.

As they walk away, Ned rushes over to Peter, out of breath. “Peter! Did you know that girl is a princess?”

“Holy cow, for real?” Peter doesn’t look to be able to stop panicking any time soon.

 

*

 

“There is only one person who can save this timeline,” one of the sorcerers explains to Sam and Bucky. The pause afterwards goes on for too long.

“It can’t be me,” Bucky says. Not because he’s unwilling to help, but because he knows he’s not some chosen one.

“It’s not you,” Strange says, in that snarky purr he uses for a voice.

“Oh. Well then. I guess we can go.” Sam has a terrible feeling about this. They need to get away from these guys. He doesn’t trust them.

“You may leave, Master Sergeant Wilson,” Wong says gently.

“Not without this asshole,” Sam says, putting his back to Bucky’s in case they have to fight their way out of here.

“Without 'this asshole,' as you say, the chosen one cannot save us.”

“I think you mean _because_ of Sergeant Barnes,” another sorcerer says. There’s a tense moment as half of the sorcerers glare at the other half of the sorcerers.

Bucky clenches his jaw. He’s seen this before. “What did I do?”

“What price would you pay to undo a single wrong in your catalog of horrors?” Wong asks Bucky.

“I see what you’re doing here.” Sam steps in front of Bucky, forcing him to look at Sam. There’s some kind of hypnosis going on. It doesn’t take a genius to see that. “You’re just as bad as Hydra. Get out of here! Leave us alone!”

“Just one spell,” Strange offers. “I’ll teach it to both of you, if it makes you feel better, Wilson.”

Sam looks at Bucky, who looks back at him with the eyes of a man who’s already made up his mind. “This better be something I can at least use to impress a date,” Sam grumbles.

 

*

 

While T’Challa consults with Wakanda’s mighty dead, Bucky and Sam learn the doctor’s spell and practice casting it together. The problem is, it won’t work for either of them. No matter how many times Bucky performs it, the Eye of Agamotto refuses to obey him. “He’s not one of us,” a sorcerer complains. “He’s not a member of the Order. Of course it won’t respond to him.”

“I’m about sick and tired of this exclusive country club,” Sam tells Bucky.

“It has to be him,” Strange insists to the others. “I saw it.”

“What exactly did you see?” Wong takes Doctor Strange aside to sit down, and they speak in hushed tones.

“Are you looking for a device that can hold an infinity stone?” Princess Shuri asks, her lightspeed brain bored of watching her brother’s sleeping body while he spirit-walks.

“We have one,” the doctor complains. “But it won’t work for a mortal.”

“Wait, are you guys immortal?” Peter asks. “Dude! That’s so cool!”

“I bet they’re allergic to garlic, though,” Ned says, eyeing Strange’s cape.

“I can make one,” Shuri says. She looks at Bucky. “If you want me to.”

Bucky’s and the princess’ eyes lock. She’s asking if he thinks this is a good idea; Shuri doesn’t trust the Order, either. “If it can stop Thanos…” Bucky says.

“We won’t have much time,” Strange tells her.

“If we return to the location where we were taken, I only need five minutes,” Shuri says.

Strange nods. “We will be ready.”  

 

*

 

When it happens, it takes Shuri seven minutes.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Sam finds T’Challa. “What did the ancestors say, anyway?”

“They said we were all dead and wondered why my sister and I had not yet joined them.”

“So they were encouraging,” Sam jokes.

“A good king knows when to adapt.” T’Challa doesn’t look amused.  

“In other words, we’re winging it.”

 

*

 

“Try not to clench your fist once you have it in,” Shuri warns Bucky.

“Do the spell just like we practiced,” Strange says.

“It has to be now!” Wong tells them, looking through a portal at the battlefield in New York. With a nod from Strange, the sorcerers create more portals.

“I don’t like this,” Sam tells Bucky. “You’re not a sacrifice. Watch your back in there. If you don’t come home, I’m gonna build a time machine and come kick your ass.”

Bucky tries to smile, but he’s as scared as Sam is. “You’re a good friend, Sam.”

“Good friend nothing,” Sam says. “You still owe me a new car for the one you wrecked.”

But there’s no more time. Through the portals, they catch glimpses of the battlefield beyond. T’Challa’s portal is the first one to open wide enough for them to step through. “Use the tracking system,” Shuri tells Bucky. “Thanos doesn’t have the stones yet.”

“We will hold his attention,” T’Challa promises.

“We will make him rue the day he was born,” Okoye spits. The three of them step through together.

 

*

 

Now that he can see through to New York, Sam tries his ear piece. “Steve, this is Sam.” Nothing. “Cap, do you read?” But then he can see through the nearest portal, and there is a lone idiot standing on the battlefield with a broken shield, facing an army of alien invaders.

Bucky takes Sam’s hands as Sam spreads his wings. “On your left!” Just like that, they’re through the portal, and Sam tosses Bucky as close to Thanos as he dares. Looks like the girl genius was right. Grimace has no gauntlet yet.

 

*

 

As chaos erupts around them, Bucky fires off a few shots and turns on the stealth mode Shuri installed in his new arm before all of this started. Even invisible, it’s hard for Bucky to dodge the fighting. Soon enough, he spots the world-ending game of hot potato going on, and Bucky runs after the winning team at breakneck speed. In spite of their best efforts, Thanos grabs the gauntlet and gets into a tug of war with Stark. While the glove is in limbo between them, Bucky calls the Time stone to him and activates it just as Strange taught him. A green, Bucky-shaped ghost flickers behind Thanos and then disappears.

 

*

 

“Did you see that?” Steve asks Sam. “It looked like Bucky.”

Sam looks at Steve like Cap got hit too hard in the head with an alien. “Who the hell is Bucky?”


	2. The Smartest Man in America

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> December 16, 1991  
> or  
> Bucky Barnes and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

 

Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d crash-landed onto concrete or if concrete had crash-landed on him. Either way, it hadn’t felt good. At all. Bucky had to crouch down in a semi-fetal position until he got himself under control. Was he like the Terminator, traveling back to the world before Armageddon, naked and disoriented? Nope. He still had his uniform on. Not to mention the Time stone itself, embedded snugly in his vibranium arm. It was starting to burn his hand, which was a neat trick, considering Bucky’s left hand wasn’t made of flesh.

He fished the containment unit out of his pocket and activated it, ejecting the stone. The Wakandan nanites closed around the Time stone, but they didn’t look happy. Bucky put them in a mesh vibranium pouch and tucked it away, close to his skin. It made him uneasy, carrying an infinity stone this way, but there were no real options here.

First things first: what day was it? Apart from the lack of devastation and alien armies, the landscape around Bucky was wildly different. Had Stark clear-cut all of the trees that were currently growing here before he’d installed the compound? What a shitty thing to do.

 _Well--whatever._ Bucky hadn’t come here to criticize Earth’s last hope. No matter when Bucky’s current present was, highways were always the arteries that connected cities. So unless he’d accidentally gone back several hundred years, Bucky thought he should be able to find what he needed. He made his way to the 85; it didn’t look too different. Passing traffic showed the cars were less than 50 years old. By Bucky’s guess, he’d made the right decade.

He sprinted down the service road to the nearest rest stop and helped himself to some state tourism hand-outs. An old man outside the restrooms was reading a newspaper; Bucky could see the date: December 16, 1991. But was it yesterday’s paper? Last week’s? He didn’t have time to find out; it was after noon. If it _was_ today’s paper, he didn’t have much time.

Bucky stole a motorcycle and headed south, wracking his brain for the best intercept point. He had been given a route in his mission, had chosen an ambush point carefully. Maybe Bucky should work backwards from the ambush point. IF he could get there first. There was really no time.

For any hope of making it, Bucky had to have wings. So he headed to Newburgh and helped himself to a UH-72; it wasn’t the most subtle thing he’d ever done, but in some ways, Bucky had to think like the Soldier today. That’s the opponent he was up against. People’s lives depended on Bucky being able to anticipate his younger self.

Bucky wished he could remember exactly what the Starks’ car looked like. There was no time to hack databases or traffic cameras; all he had time for was gut instinct, and fractured memories which were only made more confusing by the video Zemo had made them watch. The ambush point was definitely in North Carolina; Bucky could tell that by the way the trees looked. Now if he could just find the right deserted road...

Looking at a map while flying a helicopter was probably not the best idea, but it helped Bucky see the route Howard must be taking to avoid major highways. How a genius could think taking deserted back roads with irreplaceable government property alone was a good idea, Bucky would never know. Maybe Pierce had just been that convincing. Price Church Road had plenty of tree cover before the farmland really started. Bucky could see the ambush point from above. But where was the best intercept?

He left the helicopter in the state park. Bucky would have enough time before the rangers came out to investigate. There were never enough of them to go around, especially close to the holidays. Not a mile up the road was a National Guard station, where Bucky got what he needed. The Time stone was itching inside both of its cases. It was making the vibranium sing a high pitch that hurt his ears; a pain that was making it impossible for him to work. Bucky had to waste precious time burying the stone as deep as he could in the Neuse Riverbed.

It had been dark for hours, but traffic was still taking its sweet time thinning out. At 9pm, Bucky set up his roadblock, hoping to Sekhmet that he hadn’t missed the Starks driving by. Bucky didn’t think so, but he couldn’t trust his brain. Even now, after all of Shuri’s help.

By 10, he was stopping less than two cars every fifteen minutes. Bucky wasn’t worried about any of them trying to verify the roadblock; this was a time before cell phones, and the road was too narrow and out of the way for tractor trailers to go by.

By 11, Bucky was starting to panic. They should have been through by now. He could have sworn he heard the phantom sound of a motorcycle engine at the edge of his hearing. That, or he was still able to hear the damned Time stone singing from the bottom of the river.

He was considering giving up and sprinting down the road to the ambush site when the silver Cadillac finally came into view. Even from a distance, Bucky could see it had two older passengers. He could almost feel Howard trying to decide if he should turn around or not when he spotted the roadblock. Howard’s hubris won out, and he pulled up to Bucky’s roadblock, prepared to flash his badge and get a pass.

Unfortunately, Bucky forgot one thing in all of this: not everyone’s memory was as bad as his. When Bucky walked up to the driver’s window, and it rolled down to reveal Howard’s smug face, his expression didn’t last. Suddenly, Howard’s whole face sagged and his mouth dropped open. “Holy shit. Zola told me about you...he called you his greatest achievement...I always thought he was just pulling my chain.”

Bucky froze just long enough for his lizard brain to eat the mental breakdown Howard’s casual statement triggered. _Zola...you...his greatest achievement._ In a split second, Bucky understood more about Howard Stark than he’d ever wanted to know. He had the presence of mind to nod to Howard and grip the brim of his helmet in recognition of Mrs. Stark in the passenger seat. “Sir. There’s been a change of plans.”

“Change of plans?” At least Howard had the intelligence to look suspicious. “On whose orders? I was just with the Director a few hours ago.”

Bucky was loathe to even say the name; but he had been so high-ranking for so long… “Pierce, Sir. He’s got intel that the Russkis are planning a strike. They’re not satisfied with Phase 2.” But he could tell by Howard’s expression he wasn’t quite buying it. Bucky wouldn’t heave either--though it was the truth. Why would the Russians send the Fist of Hydra to tell Howard Stark to turn back?

“Howard?” Maria asked from the passenger seat, “What is it? What’s wrong?” The pitch of her voice was rising. She knew something wasn’t right.

On a hunch he hated himself for even having, Bucky bent down to the car window, leaning close to Howard’s left ear to whisper, “Hail Hydra.”  

Howard’s eyebrows darted up. “Yes. Yes, of course. I understand.”

“My orders are to escort you to Seymour Johnson where you’ll be airlifted to your final destination.”

“All right.” Suddenly Howard was all compliance. “Maria, get in the back.”

“What?” She looked shocked at the mere suggestion.

“Like we talked about. Take your purse, dear. I’ll sit up front here with Sergeant Barnes.”

“Oh!” The way she grabbed her purse and scrambled into the backseat made Bucky wonder. Why was she here? Why would Howard have brought her on such a dangerous trip? For cover? Would he really do that to his own wife?

Bucky had barely moved into the driver’s seat and shut the door when he got his answer: a barrel pressed against the back of his head. He would have known the sound of a P239 being cocked anywhere. Bucky looked over at Howard. “Really?” _What the hell, Howard?_

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Howard told him. “You’re going to surrender all of your weapons and get out of this car without a fight, or my wife is going to shoot you in the head.”

“No she’s not,” Bucky said.

“She will,” Howard insisted. “You’re doing fine, honey.” That was for Maria in the back seat. Bucky could feel her hands starting to tremble on the gun. “Or,” he was talking to Bucky again. “We can just shoot you in the back of the head now and get it over with.”

“Howard!” Maria sounded shocked.

“Don’t worry, dear. We tested bullets on Rogers. It just slows them down a little.”

Now Bucky was pissed. “You did **what**?”

“Listen, Barnes, I’d love to reminisce about bygone days, but I’m betting you’re on a timer. If you don’t check in or rendezvous by a certain time, they send backup. That’s usually how these things work. So I suggest you make up your mind quickly. Bullet in the head, or hitchhike back to wherever you came from.”

“Look, I honestly don’t care what you think,” Bucky told him. “If you drive down this road, a Russian agent is going to crush your skull and strangle your wife.”

“Howard?” Maria had lowered the gun all together. Bucky knew he should probably grab it, but some masochistic part of himself wanted to see if one of them would actually shoot him. He deserved it anyway.

“Don’t listen to him, dear.” Howard looked back at her, took the gun and aimed it at Bucky’s head himself. “He’s a Hydra agent. They all are. That’s why I took the serum.”

“THAT’S why you took the serum?” Bucky couldn’t believe how stupid--or egotistical--Howard was to have thought he could get away with that all on his own. No wonder he’d died.

“Don’t act surprised,” Howard sneered at Bucky. “I am the smartest man in America.”

“Oh shit.” Apparently they’d been talking too long. Bucky spotted a familiar silhouette standing just at the edge of the headlights.

What happened again when you met yourself from the past? The world ended? That sounded about right.

Bucky slammed on the gas in full reverse, backing away from the Soldier as fast as possible. Maria bounced off the seat, screaming. “Howard, what’s happening?!”

“Maria, for god’s sake, put your seatbelt on!” Howard remembered he should have been pointing the gun at Bucky a second too late. “Who the hell was that?” His eyes widened as he saw the figure quickly catching up to the car on foot.

Bucky sighed. “The operative, remember? He’s here to kill you and take the serum?” As the Soldier jumped onto the hood of the car, Maria screamed again, and Howard started firing through the windshield at him. “Don’t shoot him, that just makes him mad!” Bucky told Howard.

Bucky had a better idea. He turned on the windshield wipers. It was enough of a surprise to tumble the Soldier off the car for a split second. “Take the wheel!” Bucky shouted at Howard. He took his foot off the gas so they could switch seats, then jumped through the broken glass to climb onto the hood. Outside of the car, Bucky realized why the Soldier hadn’t come at them again: he was going for the prime objective: the suitcase in the trunk. “Oh no you don’t!” Bucky scrambled over the roof of the car to stop the Soldier. But just as his younger self tore the trunk open, Howard backed over him with the car. _Well...that’s one way to deal with a problem..._   

Bucky had a bad feeling, though. Now Howard was driving backwards at full speed, but there was no body in their wake. That could only mean--shots were fired from under the car, and Maria started screaming again. “Do something, Barnes!” Howard shouted.

“Brakes!” Surely an engineer understood inertia. When Howard slammed on the brakes, the force sent Bucky back in through the windshield. He jumped out the door and prepared to meet the Soldier, who had skidded out from under the car and was standing in the road behind them. “Get out of here!” Bucky called to Howard. “The National Guard Station’s just up the road!”

“Man, I hope this really doesn’t break the space-time continuum,” Bucky muttered. The Soldier tried to charge the car as Howard did a U-turn, so Bucky tackled him to the ground. Things got tense pretty quickly. It was difficult to fight someone who was hell-bent on killing you without hurting them.

Fighting himself was surreal, not just because it was himself, but because Bucky knew all of his own moves. Unfortunately for the Soldier, Bucky also knew a few moves this self hadn’t learned yet--like the ones he’d picked up exercising with the Dora Milaje. With a carefully-weighted blow to the nose, Bucky managed to knock out his younger self.

Seeing the Cadillac’s headlights disappearing in the distance, Bucky just hoped he’d done enough. Hopefully Hydra didn’t have a back-up plan to kill Howard and take the serum. There was really only one way to find out.

But first...where could he even take himself? Bucky only knew of two safe places in the entire world: Wakanda and the Sanctum Sanctorum. Sadly, no one in either place knew him yet. Well, Bleecker Street was closer. Bucky just hoped the time lords or whatever they were called wouldn’t try to take the second stone away from him. Either way, the Sanctum was still his best chance right now.

Leaving his unconscious body on the bank, Bucky waded back into the river to retrieve the Time stone. Unfortunately, it was not where he’d left it. He couldn’t even hear the eerie vibranium tune anymore. Bucky searched underwater for as long as he dared, but it was gone. “Fuck.” Bucky swam back to shore only to find the Soldier was now gone, too. “FUCK.”


	3. Stripper's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky acquires a partner in crime, and they drive to New York to make sure all Starks are safe from Hydra. But who will save Bucky from Tony?

Bucky sagged to his knees, soaking wet and cold. He needed a minute to feel sorry for himself. With the Time stone gone, the universe was in jeopardy, not to mention he was stuck here in 1991. Somehow he had to pull himself together and hunt his younger self down before he committed all the acts of terror he was going to commit in the next 20 years. “Goddammit.” Why did Strange send him again? 

“Mrrrow?” Bucky turned to see an orange tabby looking curiously at him.

“Hey, kitty.” He was soaking wet, so it surprised Bucky that the cat was sitting this close to him. “Are you lost, honey?” Bucky reached his flesh index finger out to it. The cat sniffed it politely, and then looked at Bucky again. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here in the woods.” Why was Bucky talking to a cat? Oh right. He’d been living in Wakanda for the last two years. Cats were everywhere in the Golden City, and there was a certain etiquette humans were expected to follow when dealing with Wakanda’s feline citizens.

“Does your collar say where your home is?” Bucky squinted at the pet tag in the darkness. “Goose.” He gingerly reached out to flip the tag over. Nope. No return address. “Well, Goose, I can give you a ride back into town. Maybe somebody at the local animal shelter can find your owner."

“Mrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow!” The cat clearly did not like this idea.

“Look, I really don’t know what you want from me.” Bucky stood up and shook himself off as best he could before pulling his stolen uniform back on.

“Mrrp!” Goose was suddenly standing on his shoulder. Bucky had seen cats do this move before, but that had looked especially like the cat had just materialized from one place to the other.

“Fine,” Bucky told it. “Do what you want.” He jogged back down the road, hoping the Soldier had left his bike where Bucky remembered parking it. Goose clung to his shoulder, bopping Bucky on the head with a soft paw when he jostled her too much. “Well excuse me!”

The bike was still there. “I don’t know how much you’re going to like this.” Just as Bucky suspected, the cat jumped when he started the engine. Then, unexpectedly, she jumped into his lap, nestling down on the seat in front of him. “You’re a weird cat, you know it?” he told her. Goose stayed right there, hardly moving, until Bucky had to stop for gas in Virginia. He tried to think if there was anyone in Washington he could drop in on to ask for help. No, there was no time. He needed to get to the Starks before the Soldier did.

At the gas station, Bucky checked the paper for news of another attack. Nothing yet, but printed news hardly came out minute-by-minute in this era. He used the payphone to call the New York City directory on the off-chance that Howard Stark was listed. Infuriatingly, he was. “What a maroon.” Memorizing the address, Bucky hung up the phone.

“Mrrow.” Goose seemed to agree.

“You hungry, honey? Huh?” Bucky was. All of those day-old hot dogs on the rolling grill looked amazing right now. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. Only one problem: Bucky turned his pockets inside-out. “No money.”

“Mrrow.” Goose was suddenly on the checkout counter, pawing at the register.

“Go on, cat. Shoo!” The cashier was having a hard time getting the cat to do anything besides get in her way.

“Mrrow!” Bucky knew a diversion when he saw one. While Goose was making a nuisance of herself, he swept half of the cold case into his jacket and walked out. Bucky made sure to put the gas pump back into place before driving away without paying. Goose jumped onto the pillion just as Bucky was pulling back out onto the road.

“Good job, girl.” She shoved her head inside his jacket and ate half an egg salad sandwich as they headed up the 85.

They made it to Manhattan before noon. The brownstone on Park Avenue was swank, but somehow not as swank as Bucky had been expecting. It was, however, covered in toilet paper. Young people in togas were sleeping drunkenly on the lawn, and the pervasive smell of human urine lingered all the way up the front steps. 

“What the hell?” Goose climbed the nearest tree in protest. As Bucky walked up to the door, the painfully loud dance music from inside the house was already hurting his ears.

“I got it!” someone called from inside, when Bucky rang the doorbell. An impossibly young Tony Stark opened the door. How old was he? 12? No, Bucky thought, twelve-year-olds were unlikely to have a cloud of cocaine around their noses. Stark took one long look at Bucky, then pumped his fist. “Yes!” He turned back to someone inside the house. “Stripper’s here!” Stark grabbed Bucky by the jacket and yanked him inside.

“Uh…” Bucky was really not sure why Stark was towing him further into the house, unless maybe the drugs were to blame.

“Platypus?” Stark called out. “Girls?” When there was no answer, Stark turned back to Bucky. “They might’ve passed out. Who passes out before the stripper gets here? Ingrates, all of ‘em.” Stark flopped down on a nearby couch. “Oh well, whatever. You can strip for me, soldier.” Stark threw one leg over the arm of the sofa. “I promise to be an attentive audience.” He smirked at Bucky.

“I’m not a stripper,” Bucky told him flatly.

“What?” Something about Stark’s innocent tone told Bucky he’d already known that. “Well, would you like to be?” Stark grinned wickedly. “Word around town is I’m very rich.”

Bucky tried not to roll his eyes. “Where are your parents?”

“Jeez, Larry Poppins, way to spoil the mood!” He flopped back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The way Stark’s knee was bent in the robe, Bucky could see both Tom and Jerry. “Not here, obviously.” Stark gestured too much with his hands as he spoke. “That’s why I’m throwing a party--Hello?”

Bucky grabbed Stark by the arm and towed him off the couch. “Hey! Warn a guy before you start the rough stuff, huh?” Stark sagged against Bucky, forcing Bucky to carry him up the stairs. “Oh yeah, daddy. So strong.” Stark’s hand spidered across Bucky’s chest.

“Quit it,” Bucky told him.

“I can’t help it,” Stark sexy-whined. “Adonis carrying me to my bedroom, and I’m not allowed to touch him? Oo, is that one of the rules?”

Bucky sighed, opening the nearest door. It was a room. Was it Stark’s? “Put some pants on,” Bucky told him. “We gotta get you out of here, and I can tell already you won’t be able to close your legs in that thing.”

“Are you complaining?” Stark purred, draping himself against Bucky.

“Look. I just don’t need to see your dick any more today.” Bucky jerked open the nearest drawer, rifling through for useful clothing.

“You sure, handsome?” Stark draped himself against the wall; it seemed to be his move. Was that supposed to be seductive? Stark seemed to think so.

_ Finally, pants. _ “Yeah, I’m sure.” Bucky tossed them at Stark. “Hurry up. They could be here any minute.”

Stark frowned at the pants and made no move to put them on. “Who? My parents?” He ran to the window in a moment of paranoia. “Oh look, the car’s out front.”

“Seriously?” Bucky followed him to the window to look. There was a car there, but it wasn’t the Caddy. Maybe they’d switched? “Stay here,” he instructed Stark. “I’ll go talk to them.”

“Okay, but if my dad asks for a lap dance, tell him I saw you first.” Bucky turned back to look at Stark like he was crazy. And gross. What the hell kind of family was this?

Bucky turned at the top of the stairs to come face to face with the barrel of a shotgun. “Sergeant Barnes, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave immediately.”

Who was the British guy, their butler or something? “Jarvis!” Stark ran out of the room behind Bucky, somehow wearing even less clothing than before. At least his dick was covered this time. Stark collapsed against the railing, giggling. “Oh my god, is this a shotgun wedding?”

“I’m quite serious,” Jarvis told Bucky. But Bucky could tell he was at least a little distracted by Stark laughing his ass off, wearing nothing more than his skivvies. “Sir, where are your pants?”

“I tried,” Bucky told him.

“I don’t need pants!” Stark announced, standing up on his own two feet all by himself. “I can fly!” He proceeded to demonstrate by climbing on top of the railing and jumping.

Bucky and Jarvis both reached for him at the same time, and both of them were too far away. All the same, Stark stopped falling suddenly, suspended in mid-fall, hanging by his underwear. “Oh, thank god.” Jarvis forgot about the shotgun in his rush to get Stark down safely.

Bucky was distracted by the one-armed robot that was holding Stark in mid-air. “Is that...a real robot?”

“His name’s Dum-E,” Stark told Bucky proudly. Stark was making no effort to help Jarvis, casually hanging upside-down with his arms crossed over his chest. He was turning in slow circles as his underwear twisted around. “I know you said you didn’t want to see my dick again,” Stark smirked at Bucky. “But have you seen my ass?” He wiggled it, causing his underwear to rip. Fortunately, Jarvis was right below, waiting to catch Stark when he fell.

_ What the--? _ Apparently Stark had always been a cheeky bastard. In more ways than one.

“Come along, Sir, I’ve got a change of clothing in the car,” Jarvis told Stark as he led him down the stairs.

“No, I’m having a party!” Stark whined. “The stripper just came!” He turned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Bucky.

“I beg your pardon, Sir?” Jarvis looked dutifully shocked.

“He means me,” Bucky sighed, following several steps behind them.

“Well I’m sorry, Sir, I’m afraid he can’t come. I have strict instructions from Mr. Stark--”

“I don’t care what that guy wants.” Tony did a small twirl that got him out of Jarvis’ grasp and walking straight toward Bucky.

“Listen to Jarvis,” Bucky told him, putting his arms out before Stark could glomp him again.

“No, I don’t wanna! He’s no fun!” Stark ducked under Bucky’s arms and wrapped his own around Bucky’s hips.

“Please tell me he’s not like this all the time,” Bucky said. If so, it was going to be a long 25 years.

He watched Jarvis’ expression. His lips were pursed. Stark Jr. was not doing what he was supposed to do. And Jarvis was clearly worried. Howard had probably told him Bucky couldn’t be trusted. Had probably given him orders to get junior to whatever safe house the Starks had set up as quickly as possible.

“Did Howard dump the serum at least?” Bucky asked. He could tell by the way Jarvis’ eyes darted away that he hadn’t. “Until he does, he’s not safe. And it’s not safe to take Tony to wherever he is.” Bucky could tell Jarvis was considering.

The way his eyes rested on Stark, Bucky could tell Jarvis really cared about him. “What do you propose?” he asked Bucky.

“Sex!” Stark proposed loudly. They both ignored him.

“Is there someone else you trust almost as much as Howard?”  


	4. Beats the Hell Outta Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jarvis takes Tony and Bucky to a safe house. Bucky discovers something there that makes him question his whole existence.

 

The neighborhood looked like any other middle class neighborhood in Arlington. That could make it a good safe house, Bucky thought. Easier for them to blend in. They pulled up in front of a craftsman-style home with a perfectly-manicured front lawn and tasteful Christmas decorations on the front porch. “Wait here,” Jarvis told Bucky, opening the door for Stark before having to drag his sleeping charge out of the car.

“Yeah, right.” Bucky slipped out the window, since Jarvis had cleverly locked him in. “So you two can ditch me.”

“This may be a terrible idea,” Jarvis told them as he walked Stark up the brick path to the front door.

“Should I be armed?” Bucky asked, as if he weren’t always armed.

“Not that sort of terrible, I’m afraid.” Looking like he was reconsidering his choice, Jarvis rang the doorbell. It played the first four bars of the _Stars and Stripes’_ Trio strain.

An aging ghost opened the door. “Mr. Jarvis. What a pleasant surprise. And Tony! Do come in.” Bucky just stared as the smell of gingerbread wafted out the door behind her.

“Aunt Peggy!” Stark woke up enough to realize where they were and threw himself at her.

“My, don’t you smell...festive.” She patted Stark, wrinkling her nose at the smells of alcohol sweat and body odor. Without looking at Bucky, she ushered all three of them inside and walked back toward the kitchen. “I assume there’s a reason you’ve arrived on my doorstep unannounced with an armed escort?”

_Man, she’s good._

“I’m afraid it’s rather a long story,” Jarvis hesitated.

“Do you have cookies?” Stark butted in, his large eyes even larger with the munchies. “Aunt Peggy makes the best cookies,” he told Bucky.

“No shit?” Bucky would not have pegged her for the homemaking type.

“In this house, soldier, we mind our language in polite company.” She threw Bucky one of her famous ball-busting glares. It hadn’t lost weight with age, either.

“Fuck, I’m sorry--I mean--sorry,” Bucky corrected himself.

But once Peggy’s eyes landed on Bucky, they stuck to him. Peggy’s eyebrow twitched. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

Bucky pulled the helmet down a little further over his eyes, considering. Just how much would it fuck up history if he had this conversation with Agent Carter? Fortunately, Jarvis interrupted his thoughts. “Er...may we speak privately?”

“Yes, of course.” Bucky looked past them at Stark cheerfully parked at her kitchen table with a glass of milk and a tray full of gingerbread, going to town. Bucky shook his head. Maybe Stark really was twelve.

“I’ll get us some tea,” Carter was telling Jarvis. “Young man.” It took Bucky way too long to figure out she was talking to him. “I think you should wait in the sun room. There’s a pitcher of Arnold Palmer on the side table. Feel free to help yourself.”

“Uh...sure.” Who the fuck was Arnold Palmer? “...Ma’am.” He walked past them in the direction she’d pointed, feeling awkward as hell. It turned out the sun room was a kind of fenced-in back porch. The cold felt good. Bucky took off his helmet and tried to untangle his hair with his fingers. There was a pitcher of iced tea on a side table with some glasses. Why hadn’t Carter just said iced tea?

In the middle of deciding if he was thirsty enough to drink some, Bucky realized he’d left Goose in New York. “Shit.” He felt terrible. The cat had trusted him, ridden all the way there with him from two states away. Now how was she supposed to get home? Bucky was honestly torn between staying to make sure Stark got someplace safe and going back to see if the cat was still there. Tony at least had all of these people looking after him. But that poor little cat…

“Bucky?”

Bucky would have known that voice anywhere. His head snapped around in shock. “Stee--” No, wait. There was an old man sitting in a rocking chair pushed up against the wall. “--ve?” Where the hell was Steve? And who was this guy?

The old man smiled, and it was an expression Bucky had never seen before, full of wrinkles and decades of experience he couldn’t even imagine. The old man levered himself out of the rocking chair and walked over to Bucky like his knees were bothering him. “Hey, punk.” He gripped Bucky’s shoulder affectionately.

“You’re the punk,” Bucky answered automatically. “Holy shit, Steve. What the hell happened to you?”

Steve just smiled. And it was that smile that had always pushed Bucky’s buttons. The ‘I think I know more than you’ smile. “Steve.” It slowly dawned on Bucky. “How did you get here?”

“It’s fine, Buck,” Steve told him, hobbling over to pour some iced tea. He held the glass with his left hand, and Bucky noticed the wedding ring on his finger.

“What the fuck, Steve?”

Steve glanced back with a smirk. “Language.”

“Fuck you, jerk. Answer the question.”

“Don’t worry, Buck. I put the stones back right where we got ‘em. Nothing changed. We still won.”

“Still won what?” That battle he’d booked out of to fix history for Stark? Okay, good to know. But that still didn’t explain--stones. “You took the Time stone?” How the hell had Steve known where it was?

Steve nodded. “I took all of ‘em. Just like we said.”

“Who’s we?” What conversation was he talking about? Nothing Bucky remembered.

“The Avengers.” Why did he still have that smug smile on his face? Steve offered him the glass of tea, and Bucky was too distracted to refuse it. “Well.” Steve looked sad for a second. “Minus Nat. And Tony.”

“What do you mean ‘minus Tony’?” Had Bucky done it wrong? Stark hadn’t made it?

“Tony died to save us,” Steve said, like Bucky should have remembered it. “You were at the funeral.”

“I what?” This must have been what Strange had meant. This was what he'd sent Bucky back to fix.

Steve suddenly looked suspicious. “Buck. What year did you come from?”

But Bucky was slowly realizing what had been bothering him so much about old Steve. “What year did I come from? What year did YOU come from, Steve? How long have you been here?”

That was Steve’s ‘I may have fucked up, but I won’t admit it’ look. Bucky would know it anywhere. “Steve?”

He set his jaw, stubborn. “Answer my question, Buck.”

“Fuck you. Answer my goddamn question.”

“Everything was fine. We won. The universe was safe. Nothing wrong with me going back.”

“Going back to what?” Maybe Bucky was wrong. Maybe Steve really had been fixing history. But if that were true, why had the Winter Soldier been about to kill the Starks last night? And why did Tony still die?

Steve shrugged, defensive. “Tony got to live his dream with a wife and family. Why shouldn’t I?”

Bucky stared at him in disbelief. “Steve, what did you do?”

“What? Nothing. Drink your tea.” Steve shuffled back to his rocking chair.

“Nothing? Seriously nothing?” Steve wouldn’t look at him. That was when Bucky knew it was true. Steve started to rock, staring straight ahead as if Bucky were no longer there. “Steve.” Bucky strode over and crouched down in front of him so that Steve had to look at him. “Are you seriously telling me you came all the way back here and just...lived your life?”

“The past can’t be changed,” he told Bucky. “That’s not how time travel works. Bruce explained it to us.”

“Well then Bruce is full of shit!” Bucky couldn’t remember ever having been so angry in his life. “I saved Howard’s life last night, Steve. He’s your pal, you were really gonna sit here and bake cookies while he and his wife were murdered?”

“It was meant to be, Buck.”

“Meant to be! Fuck you, Steve Rogers!” Bucky was shaking. He felt like he was about to lose it for real. “So it’s meant to be that I got--that Hydra forced me to kill hundreds of innocent people? Huh? Is that also meant to be? And you just fucking sat here, living your best life with your perfect family while I--while all those people died?”

“Buck, calm down.” Steve tried to get up.

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re sure as hell not Steve Rogers from Brooklyn.” Bucky yanked the screen door open to the inside of the house.

“Buck, where are you going?”

“I gotta go get my damn cat.”

“You have a cat?” Stark popped up in the hall as Bucky was striding toward the front door. “I wanna see.”

“No. Stay here with Agent Carter. You’ll be fine.”

“Who were you yelling at in the back?”

“Beats the hell outta me.” Bucky stopped with his hand on the lock and looked down at Stark. “Who’s she married to? Your aunt?”

“Uncle Grant? Nobody ever sees him. He’s always traveling for work.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” Bucky muttered. And then the door was moving, pushing them both back against the wall.

“Mom! Dad! I’m home! I brought Boston Market this time, you shouldn’t have to cook again.” When the door closed, they came face to face with--

“Hey, cousin Sharon.” Stark smirked.

Was it possible to feel intense nausea and rage at the same time? Bucky wasn’t feeling so hot anymore. He sagged against the wall and shut his eyes, trying his best not to vomit. That was how she got the drop on him. For the fourth time today, Bucky found himself with a gun pointed at his head. “Don’t move,” she growled. At this point, Bucky was more than half-tempted to just tell Sharon to shoot him.

“Hey, quit it!” Stark slapped the gun away. “That’s my boyfriend. You can’t have him.” Bucky opened his eyes in disbelief at that statement. Sharon was unmoved, taking a step back and aiming the gun at him again.

“Tony, step away from that man; he’s more dangerous than you know.” With all the commotion, Jarvis and Peggy came out to see what was going on.

“Sharon, don’t be a ninny. Put your gun down,” Peggy said.

“But mom! That’s--”

“I know very well who that is.” Carter walked over and took the gun away from her daughter. “Do you honestly believe I’d let someone into my home if I thought they posed a threat to us?”

Bucky wasn’t sure if he was more insulted or amazed by what he was watching. “But--” Sharon began.

“If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a happy Christmas. Now why don’t you go on into the kitchen and see if Tony’s left you any gingerbread?” Stark hunched his shoulders as if it would make him invisible. Seemed like there was no gingerbread left for cousin Sharon. “The sergeant was just leaving. Weren’t you, Sergeant?”

“Yeah.” Bucky pushed away from the wall, trying to get himself together. “Yes, Ma’am, I was.” He started nearly out of his skin when Peggy came over and embraced him.

“Whatever happened between the two of you, it’s good to see you again, Bucky. Please take care.”

This rollercoaster of emotions was breaking him. Bucky was speechless, mortified that his eyes were welling with tears. He gave Peggy a quick salute and ran out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not here to bash Steve; I honestly wanted to try it the Russos' way. After all, it's canon now, right? Thanks, I hated it. Trying to write a Steve Rogers who could do this made me want to kill myself. Sorry. #notmySteve


	5. Because I Could Tell You Were Sad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road trips are a perfect opportunity for bonding. But is it such a good idea for Bucky to bond with Tony, knowing what he has to do?

 

The cold air felt good in his lungs. Bucky stretched his legs, trying to put them all behind him as fast as he could go. It was hard for him to track time when his head was this scrambled. Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d been walking for 5 minutes or 5 hours when a car pulled up beside him and started pacing him. _What the fuck is it now?_

“Hey there, sailor. Care for a ride?” Bucky stopped dead in his tracks.

“Stark, what the fuck?” Was this how Stark had died? Because he was incapable of following even the simplest of orders?

“If you’re asking how I like it, get in and I can show you.” He offered Bucky a lascivious smirk.

“Why the hell aren’t you back at your aunt’s?”

Stark wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like when cousin Sharon is there. She gets too much attention. Less for me.”

“Are you still high?!” This kid was unbelievable.

“No.” Stark pouted. “I want to see your cat. You said you have a cat--I love cats. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” He gave Bucky the doe eyes, but it wasn’t working.

“You want to drive two hours to see a cat. Bullshit.”

“They’re boring, and I don’t wanna stay with them!” Stark whined. Bucky had half a mind to spank him, but  he realized Stark was likely to take it the wrong way.

Finally, he sighed. “Move over.” Stark’s face lit up as he slid into the passenger seat. “You can see the cat, but then I’m bringing you right back here. No arguments. Got it?”

“Okay!” Stark chirped.

_Did he just manipulate me? Am I too tired to care? Yes._

They were only driving a few miles when Bucky noticed Stark was staring at him. Too intensely for his liking. “Why did Aunt Peggy call you, Bucky?”

 _Here we go._ “No clue.” He was still wrestling with an even more confusing question: how had Steve Rogers gone back in time to 1945 and happily sat back and enjoyed his life while the world had burned around him? At least Nero had played the violin.

“You kind of look like him.”

“What?” Bucky’s train of thought derailed. Looked like Emperor Nero?

“Bucky Barnes. You know, Captain America’s sidekick?”

“Sidekick, huh?” But that was not a new one on Bucky. He’d heard that one back in the 40s. After the conversation today, maybe he should have worn a Jiminy Cricket costume into battle. Because Steve apparently had no conscience without him.

It just didn’t make sense for Steve to go back in time and forget about the world. Steve had saved him from Hydra. Twice--no, three times. So why had he chosen not to do it this time? Had Steve regretted it? Had he just been wishing all this time he’d left well enough alone? That thought might hurt, but Bucky was so numb after the whole conversation with Steve, he might as well have had a heart of stone.

“Bucky? ...Bucky?” Had Stark been talking to him this whole time?

“What?” Stark leaned back against the passenger car door, smug as a cat.

“I _am_ the smartest person on earth.” Stark clapped his hands, proud of himself. “I knew it was you.”

“It was who?” _Dammit, self._

“You’re Bucky Barnes. I knew it.”

“James Barnes is dead,” Bucky told him seriously. “He fell off a train in 1945 and he died. The end.”

“Nuh uh.” What a brilliant five-year-old response. “Anyway, the official story is that he died during a mission, so you just gave yourself away again.” Stark’s smirk widened. Apparently he always had been this annoying.

“If that’s the official story, how do you know I didn’t just make that up?”

“‘Cause dad told me. And Aunt Peggy. She said Cap was crazy sad. He went to a bar and tried to get sauced over you.”

“He did?” Bucky felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

“Yeah, only he couldn’t because of his…” Stark waved his hands. “Super-uberman thing. She found him there, crying his beautiful blue eyes out, ‘cause he blamed himself for your death.”

It was getting harder to see the road. Bucky’s flesh knuckles were white under his gloves. Also, he was starting to leave finger-dents in the steering wheel. “It wasn’t Steve’s fault.” Not his Steve, the stubborn little punk who would have done anything to fix history.  

 

*

 

Okay, now Bucky looked like he was about to cry. Tony’s game wasn’t fun anymore. “Pull over,” Tony told him, putting one hand on the wheel.

“Why?” The act of glancing over at Tony caused the tears to spill from Bucky’s eyes, and suddenly there were glistening streams down his stubbly cheeks. Tony forgot what he was going to say. “You gotta pee or somethin?” Bucky asked him.

“Yeah,” Tony lied. “Rest stop. See?” He pointed at the exit sign ahead. When Bucky parked in front of the tourism center, Tony stayed where he was until Bucky turned to look at him.

“Change your mind?”

“I think I might puke,” Tony announced. He really didn’t feel good. Bucky’s lip twitched. He probably didn’t want Tony to puke in the car. To be fair, Tony didn’t either.

“Cocaine and cookies probably isn’t the best diet for a growing boy.”

Tony was immediately outraged. “Hey, watch it, Barnes! I happen to be a grown man! I can put what I want in my body.” Five minutes ago, Tony had wanted to put Bucky in his body. Now he was having second thoughts.

Bucky sighed, and he sounded really done with Tony. It hurt. Reminded him of dad before he would reach for the scotch and tell Tony to go play somewhere else. “Fine. Do what you want,” Bucky said.

“No!” Tony punched the seat. “You’re supposed to tell me to take care of myself. That’s what Jarvis does.”

Bucky leaned his head back against the headrest. “I’m not your nanny. If you need someone to tell you not to kill yourself, get help.”

Tony’s mouth moved, but no sounds came out. How dare he? How dare he talk to Tony that way?

 

*

 

Bucky could tell from the kid’s reaction that he’d gone too far. He was just so wrung out. Bucky had no more emotional energy left to babysit a histrionic today.

Then he realized something: Tony Stark had a death wish. And apparently it wasn’t related to the death of his parents, because they were still alive. Bucky opened his eyes. What would Sam tell him to do? “I’m sorry. That was harsh.”

Stark had turned away, and was picking at the door handle. “Whatever. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not fine.” Bucky reached for him, wanting to give comfort but not really sure how. “You matter. Okay? Please stop hurting yourself.”

“Shut up!” Bucky could hear the tears in Stark’s voice. “You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not my dad!” Before Bucky could blink, Stark threw himself at Bucky’s chest and started sobbing.

 _Okay, so there are some daddy issues here._ Bucky awkwardly looped an arm around Tony’s shoulders. “That’s true.”

Tony scrubbed at his eyes. “I wish Jarvis was here.”

“Want me to turn the car around?”

“No!” Tony leaned back, trying hard to pretend he hadn’t just been crying like a little kid.

“Well what do you want me to do?” Bucky shouldn’t have let the kid push his buttons, but he was so beyond tired. “I’m not a genie. I can’t just pull wishes out of my ass.”

Stark giggled. “Did you just cut one?”

Bucky was lost. “What?”

“The cheese? Did you just cut the cheese?” He poked Bucky, still giggling.

It was so ridiculous, Bucky almost laughed. “What? You did. You’re the one who said it.”

“No I didn’t!” Stark giggled. “You farted. Bucky Barnes farted!”

Bucky tried to rub the wrinkles out of his forehead. “What the hell?”

Still giggling, Stark leaned close, and Bucky was afraid he was going to get glomped again. It turned out to be worse. “You were always my favourite. I mean of the Howling Commandos-- don’t get me wrong, I liked Cap the best. But you were the prettiest.” Stark reached to grasp a strand of Bucky’s hair. “Even before the long hair.”

Bucky could see where this was going. He turned and put his hands on the wheel. “Get back in your seat, before I fart on you again.” Stark fell back, giggling. “Are you gonna pee or what?”

Stark clutched his stomach. Apparently scatalogical humor was still the highest form of comedy to him at the age of 18. “No, I don’t have to.”

Now Bucky was frustrated. “Then why did you--?”

“Because I could tell you were sad.” How had Stark gotten that close again so fast? The cheeky little bastard leaned in and kissed Bucky’s beard. “I’m sorry your best friend died.”

Stark had no idea how true those words felt. Today Bucky had realized that Steve Rogers was dead to him.

“I can be your best friend,” Stark offered, reaching for Bucky’s hand.

“You got a weird notion of best friends,” Bucky told him, taking his hand back. Before Stark could protest, Bucky pointed down the way at a truck stop. “Diner. You want some real food? It might settle your stomach.”

“Oo, coffee.” Stark was immediately distracted, babbling on about all of the greasy diner food he wanted to eat.

_Glory to Bast._

After refueling both themselves and the car, Bucky and Stark got back on the road. “You should get some rest while you can,” Bucky told him. The kid had to be tired--Bucky knew HE was--and it would give him a nice break from all of this mental babysitting.

Stark looked at him, thoughtful. “Only if I can use you as a pillow.”

Bucky shrugged. “Fine.” Anything to shut him up. Bucky knew it was a mistake from how wide Stark’s smile was. He watched the kid stretch out across the seat and lay his head in Bucky’s lap. “Watch it,” he told Stark.

“Whaaaat?” Stark wrapped his arms around Bucky’s thigh, getting comfortable. “You said I could.”

“Fine. Just pretend I’m Jarvis.”

“What? No!” Stark wrinkled his nose. “Gross.”

“Sleep.” Shockingly, the kid was out cold in a matter of minutes.


	6. Oh My God Look at That Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey helps Bucky escape from SHIELD. Tony sees a cat. Bucky makes the mistake of telling them his plan.

 

They made it back to New York by Bucky’s sheer force of will. Bucky had never been alone with someone who talked so much in his life; he had no coping mechanisms. In the end, the only way he could get Stark to focus and stop distracting him was by letting the kid braid his hair. It was fine, Bucky had spent hours with the princess doing something similar. He’d had a hard time looking at the princess during their neurotherapy sessions, so Shuri had taken to standing behind Bucky while they talked. She would twist and untwist his hair into various styles while she guided the computer to repair his brain damage.

Once they reached the city, Bucky parked near Penn Station and told Stark to wait for him inside. The more people with eyes on Stark, the more difficult it would be for Hydra to make a move if they were here. Bucky went the rest of the way on foot, keeping an eye out for anyone he recognized or anyone who looked suspicious.

At the house, the cops had arrived, and everyone left was getting loaded into the paddy wagon. Apparently rich kids under the influence didn’t appreciate getting treated like everyone else. Bucky’s bike was still where he’d left it; that was one good thing. He glanced around for the cat.

“I’m just asking what agency you’re with.” A young man with a military bearing appeared in the doorway holding Goose. She looked pretty happy. Maybe Bucky had been worried for nothing.

Then Bucky saw the men in black the kid was talking to. SHIELD for sure. Hydra? Maybe. Either way, they were doing Hydra’s work if they were looking for Howard. Bucky subtly moved to where they wouldn’t be able to see him. Unfortunately, his hiding skills were no match for Goose.

“Hey, cat, what are you--?” The cat jumped out of Stark’s friend’s arms and quickly found Bucky’s hiding place. Goose sat at his feet with an accusatory look.

“Okay, I admit I messed up,” Bucky whispered.

“There you are.” The young man from the house walked around the corner into their hiding spot. He noticed Bucky and froze. Bucky motioned him to be silent, praying that the kid would just do it. “Aren’t you that stripper from this morning?”

“I’m not a stripper!” Bucky whispered angrily.

“The guys up there were asking about you.” The young man looked sober, but his dark complexion was a little on the gray side, the crease in his forehead suggesting he was nursing a hangover.

_Shit._

“But I guess you know that.” The kid crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t suppose you know where Tony went.”

Too late, one of the agents came to investigate what the kid was doing. “Stun.” Bucky extended his arm, and a bolt of energy shot out of his palm, rendering the agent unconscious. Bucky dragged him into the nearby alley and switched clothes with him.

“Is that normal to you? Because I feel like that’s not normal.” Was the kid really standing there while Bucky changed? Whatever.

“You know how to ride a motorcycle, kid?”

“Kid? That’s Second Lieutenant Rhodes to you, pal. And yes. I do.”

An officer. Just great. Bucky struggled to hide his long hair in the collar of the agent’s starched shirt. “Good. Drive that bike over to Penn Station. I’m gonna take the car.” Bucky winced as Goose climbed him like a tree, making a visible lump inside his jacket.

“Pretend to take notes or something,” Rhodes told him.

“What?”

“Yeah. He looked kinda like that.” The lieutenant grabbed Bucky’s elbow and towed him toward the car. Now that they were out of cover, Bucky could see the other agents walking toward their hiding place. “And he had a gun in his hand, which is weird, because it was made of metal.”

Bucky realized he’d forgotten to put his gloves back on. _Shit._

“Listen, I have to go. But call me if you have any more questions.” Rhodes walked casually to Bucky’s bike and started it up. Several agents ran after him, but he peeled out like a pro. It gave Bucky time to get into the SHIELD agents’ car. There was no one inside, so he just turned the key in the ignition and casually pulled away from the curb. Unhappy that Bucky was sitting, Goose crawled out of his jacket and jumped into the passenger seat.

As they drove off, one of the agents watched, confused, another tried to wave Bucky down, but a third agent started shooting at them. “Spot the Hydra agent.” Too bad they had showed up in a bullet proof car. “Suckers.” While he waited for midtown traffic, Bucky disabled the car’s GPS.

The two of them reached Penn Station to find Stark outside, standing in the street, just what Bucky had told him NOT to do. “Platypus!” Stark shouted, throwing his hands in the air at the sight of his best friend on a motorcycle. “Does this mean I get to be your ride or die bitch?”

“Come on, Tony,” Rhodes begged. People were staring.

Bucky got out of the SHIELD car to an argument between the two young men that sounded a little too much like a lovers’ quarrel. It broke off when Stark’s eyes landed on Bucky. “Nevermind, sour patch, I want to ride Bucky.”

“You mean ride WITH him...right?” Rhodes asked.

“Right, right,” Stark said absently. He sauntered up to Bucky with a smirk that Bucky was really getting tired of. “You took your sweet time, sugarlump. Didja bring me anything?” Stark batted his eyelashes while he gently gripped Bucky’s lapel.

“Your friend,” Bucky pointed out.

Stark wrinkled his nose. “He’s not a present.”

“I stole a car from SHIELD,” Bucky said, handing Stark the keys.

But Stark just pouted. “What else?” He was getting closer to Bucky, playing with Bucky’s jacket like he either wanted it off or wanted to be inside it.

“Mrow.” Goose gracefully leapt from the open driver’s door and walked over to the filthy sidewalk to watch Bucky get tortured.

Stark caught his breath and froze in place. “Oh my god, look at that cat.” With a dancer’s step, he started to walk slowly toward Goose. “Everybody stop what you’re doing,” he told passers-by on the street, spreading his arms to try to stop them. “Hold it.”

“Hey, fuck you, pal.”

 _“Pendejo!”_ New Yorkers didn’t seem to have changed since Bucky’s day. They still didn’t appreciate being told what to do.

“Wait,” Stark said. “Trust me.” Goose flicked her ear. Even she thought Stark was going over the top.

“That’s--it’s Goose,” Bucky explained. Why was Stark acting so weird? Or was he just like this?

“Oh my god!” Stark’s voice ascended to a pitch only dogs could hear. “Your name is Goose?” He tip-toed over to her, performing a never-before-seen ballet in honor of cats around the world. “How cute are you?” Stark bent down to talk to her. “You’re the cutest. You’re the absolute cutest!”

Bucky looked to Rhodes for an explanation. “He’s really weird about cats.”

 _No shit_ , Bucky thought.

“He found a kitten once, but Howard didn’t want him to have it. They fought about it. Cat mysteriously ended up at the bottom of their swimming pool,” Rhodes said.

Bucky had not been expecting that sudden dark ending. “What the FUCK?”

“Yeah, genius, self-made millionaires with questionable codes of ethics make shitty parents,” Rhodes said. “Who knew?”

Bucky watched Stark fawning over Goose and felt like shit. “Well, she’s probably safer with the two of you at this point anyway. If she wants to go with you…”

Just then, Stark walked over to them, wearing Goose as a hat. “So. Where are we going?”

“ **We** are not going anywhere. You and your friend here--”

“The name’s Rhodes,” Rhodes reminded him.

“You and Rhodes are going back to your Aunt Peggy’s, like you promised.”

“Well…” Stark’s lower lip popped out. “What are you gonna do?”

“I have to stop a terrorist before New Year’s.”

“I dunno, Platypus.” Stark stroked Goose’s fur, thoughtful. “His thing sounds a lot more fun than ours.”

“To be fair,” Rhodes looked at Bucky, seriously. “It does sound more interesting.”

“Look, this isn’t a game,” Bucky snapped, starting to lose his temper.

“I never said it was a game,” Stark answered quickly. “Did you say it was a game?” he asked Rhodes.

“No, I didn--”

“No one said it was a game,” Stark finished quickly, before Bucky could speak again. “So, what’s our next move?”

“No way,” Bucky said. “This is no job for civilians.”

“Hi,” Rhodes raised a hand. “United States Air Force.” He shook Bucky’s hand like they were meeting for the first time.

“And I’m a military contractor,” Stark finished. “Sorry, toots,” he told Bucky’s sour expression. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”

“Listen to me,” Bucky told them. “No way are the two of you coming with me on this mission. Under no circumstances. It’s not safe, and it’s no place for two kids like you.”

 


	7. Kyle Reese for Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky, Tony, and Goose travel to South Africa to terminate Klaue. To keep him busy, Bucky bets Tony he can't build Iron Man. Loose lips sink ships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For you youngins or anyone out there who doesn't give a damn about sci-fi classics, Kyle Reese is the dude in the first Terminator movie who travels to the 80s to save Sarah Connor, the resistance leader's mom, so that John Connor can be born. In the process, Kyle has sex with Sarah and ends up being John's dad. 
> 
> Good thing time travel doesn't work that way. The Russos should have told them.

 

“Type faster, Platypus.”

“Don’t tell me to type faster, you reroute slower.”

“Okay, sure. But the second I quit rerouting, they’ll be able to track us.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Bucky asked them.

“Mostly,” Stark joked.

“Not funny, Tones,” Rhodes said. “Listen, someone’s gotta have this guy on their watch list, right?”

“Try the CIA,” Bucky suggested. Maybe they haven’t been totally infiltrated by Hydra.

It only took a few more minutes for the junior hackers to find something. “Okay, it’s not much.” Rhodes printed it out, and it wasn’t even half a page.  “Smuggling, mainly, a dash of low-scale organized crime…”

“They put him as a regular at this dive in Soweto.”

 _Fuck. South Africa._ “Okay, thanks,” he said. “I’ll take it from here.”

“What do you mean ‘take it from here’?” Rhodes asked. “We point him out to the Agency, right?”

“No. Bureaucracy takes time.” Time they didn’t have.

Both boys were quiet for a moment. “I don’t understand,” Rhodes said. “How long have we got?”

“Not long enough.” Bucky stood, tucking the paper into his jacket pocket.

“What does that mean?” Rhodes asked.

“You guys head back to Virginia. I’ve got this.”

“Wait,” Stark protested. “I thought we were doing this together.”

“No way,” Bucky said. “Too dangerous.”

“Why?” Rhodes looked concerned. “What are you going to do?”

“Probably shoot him,” Stark said, like it was no big deal. “Bucky was a decorated sniper in the war.” Rhodes looked as shocked as Stark should have been.

“Don’t go around saying stuff like that," Bucky told him. "It’s upsetting.”

“I’m right, though, right?” Stark said.

“You guys go on, before we all get caught.” Hacking government databases was a serious crime.

“No such luck, buttercup.” Stark stood up, deciding. “I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t want any part of this, Tony,” Rhodes warned. “Trust me.”

“I trust you, sour patch.” Stark kissed Rhodes good-bye. After his friend had gone, Stark proved even more difficult to get rid of than Bucky had expected. So difficult, that within 12 hours, both of them were in a freight container on a cargo plane headed for the OR Tambo.

“I’m cold,” Stark whined. “Hold me?”

Bucky looked him over to make sure Stark wasn’t just lying for attention again; he was shivering. _Damn._ Bucky took off his coat and wrapped it around Stark. Somehow his bleach-blond hair made Stark look more cold. It was the best disguise Bucky could think of on short notice. “I told you it was gonna be miserable,” Bucky said.

“It’s not miserable, it’s just cold,” Stark insisted, curling up against Bucky and cuddling Goose like a teddy bear.

“You’d be safer and more comfortable at Peggy’s,” Bucky pointed out.

“I’m with you, right? How can I be safer than that?”

Bucky sighed. Stark just wouldn’t listen. “Places I go, things I have to do, they’re not safe.”

“But you came from the future to protect me, right?” Stark asked. “So who could possibly keep me more safe than you?”

“Where did you get a pea-brained idea like that?” Bucky was not doing a great job of covering his panic. “I’m not from the future.”

“You are.” Tony snuggled down into Bucky’s jacket and closed his eyes. “You’re my Kyle Reese, and I know you’ll protect me.”

 _Who the hell is Kyle Reese?_ Bucky wondered.

 

*

 

Things got messy in Johannesburg. For Bucky to be able to scout Klaue, he had to find somewhere safe to stash the kid. Worse than that, he had to convince Stark to stay there.

“Why can’t I come along? I can blend in; I’m a master of disguise,” Stark claimed.

“Seriously?”

“Well, I took a stagecraft class once,” Stark said, defensive.

“Listen.” Bucky put his hands on Stark’s shoulders. “We’ve been over this. I can take damage you can’t. If things go south, you could get hurt. Or worse.”

“What if I wear body armor?” Stark asked.

“Then you won’t be able to move fast if we need to make a getaway.”

Stark’s eyes lit up. “What if I wear body armor that can fly?”

“There is no such thing.”

“Yet.”

As ridiculous as it sounded, Bucky realized it could be the perfect thing to keep Stark occupied. “What, are you gonna do it?”

Stark puffed up his chest, offended. “You think I can’t?”

“Bet you can’t.” Stark was wildly competitive; he would take the bait.

Stark grinned. “If I win, what do I get?”

 _Uh oh._ “What do you want to get?”

“A date.”

Bucky blinked at him. “With who?”

“Bucky bear.” Stark’s voice dropped low, and he snuggled against Bucky’s side suggestively. “Who do you think?”

Bucky’s brain was rapidly back-pedaling. Abort! Abort!

“Don’t worry, sweetness.” Tony took his hand. “We can just hold hands and drink sody pop, like back in the day.”

“Sody pop?” Back in the day, Bucky had had some pretty x-rated dates. But he wasn’t about to tell Tony that.

“We don’t even have to get to first base,” Tony pleaded with his Bambi eyes.

“Okay, fine.” Bucky took his hand back. “IF you win. But you won’t.”

And it was on.

While Bucky tracked Klaue, Stark transferred money out of one of Howard’s Swiss bank accounts and rented a garage in Mayfair West. He bought some materials and shipped others, working day and night. It was the most quiet Bucky had ever known Stark to be.

On the third night, Bucky had come back to the garage to find Stark sitting on his work bench. “C’mere and do me,” he said.

“Huh?” So much for Stark being quiet and distracted.

Stark flapped his arms, indicating he needed help getting into the chest plate he was half-wearing.

“Is this really safe?” It looked like it weighed more than Stark did.

“Yes. Probably. Either way, I’ll be the talk of all the yacht club brunches.” While Stark talked, Bucky shut the clamps, effectively enclosing Stark’s torso in a tin can. “Watch this,” he said. “The pièce de résistance.” He popped a silver helmet on his head and turned to Bucky. “Kiss me.”

“What? No.”

“What about now?” Tony shut the visor on his helmet, offering Bucky instead of Tony’s face, a stoic robot face.

“I’m not kissing that,” Bucky said.

“Pleeeeeeeeeeease?”

“No.” It proved to be a long night, with Tony following Bucky around the garage and loft while he planned, begging for a kiss and getting refused. Around dawn, Tony finally gave up and went to bed, curling up with Goose, disappointed. Bucky had hoped the cat and the suit would be enough to keep Stark occupied. Apparently they weren’t.

In the short time they had been in Johannesburg, the three of them had gotten into a routine, Bucky doing his hunting during the day and into the evening while Stark worked in the garage with Goose supervising. When Bucky came home, he would bring food so that Tony remembered to eat. Then, once dinner was over, Bucky would act as Stark’s assistant in the garage for a few hours. And each night, shortly before dawn, Bucky would try to convince Tony to sleep.

“Why would I stop?” Stark would say. “This is the most fun I’ve had since I made Dum-E.”

“You need to sleep, though.” Bucky would tell him.

“No I don’t.” Stark was nothing if not stubborn.

“Yeah. You do.”

“ _You_ don’t sleep,” Tony would point out.

And Bucky would get the hint. “Fine. I’ll sleep if you sleep.”

Tony’s eyes would light up. “Together?”

“Sleeping.”

On the second to last night of their mission, the conversation continued. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure.” Stark threw off his welding helmet and stripped off his gloves. The smell of him was...pungent.

“Might wanna shower sometime, too,” Bucky hinted.

Stark paused. “Why? You wanna see me naked?”

Bucky snorted. “No.” He could tell immediately it had been the wrong response. “Look, I’ll clean up while you hit the showers. I’ll have the bed all made up when you’re done.”

Tony bit his lip. “We don’t have soap.”

“You mean this?” Bucky held up the mechanics’ soap Tony had been scrubbing with all day. Busted.

Tony stomped his foot, annoyed. “I want you to put it on.”

“What? Do I smell?” Bucky did a pit check.

“No, stupid. Put it on me!”

“No can do.” Tony sure was persistent, though.

“Why not?”

“You know why.”

Bucky couldn’t say what happened inside Tony’s head after that; but it wasn’t good. “Well sorry if I don’t meet your high standards!”

“What?” But Tony was gone. _So temperamental._ Bucky took his time cleaning up before heading up to the loft to make the bed. Before half an hour had gone by, he heard Tony downstairs, banging around in the garage. “Hey, I thought you were coming to bed,” Bucky called over the railing.

“Why bother? You don’t like me anyway.”

 _Oh, Bast._ “I didn’t say that.”

“So you do like me?” Tony turned to face him, leaning coquettishly on the workbench.

“I like you just fine.”

“Oh.” Tony turned back around, disappointed.

“Hey.” Bucky climbed down the ladder to get in his face. “You need to sleep. I’m serious.” Tony muttered something about Bucky not being his dad. “You’re right. I’m not your dad. I actually have to take care of you, and believe me, you’re not making it easy.”

“Well who asked you, anyway?”

“A lot of people.”

“What?”

“A whole lot of people sent me here. Because we’re all counting on you.” Bucky realized it was wrong before he’d finished speaking.

“What?” Tony was starting to look scared. Bucky should have kept his mouth shut. He immediately regretted it.

“Are you telling me you’re Kyle Reese for real?” Tony looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

“No. No way. It’s not like that.”

“People shouldn’t count on me.” Tony was having trouble breathing. “I’m unreliable. I’m a fuck-up. I’m dumb--like not not smart, but really dumb. I do dumb things all the time, just ask Howard. I can’t--it’s too much. I can’t do this, I can’t--you have to go back, tell them. They made a mistake--”

Bucky grabbed Tony and crushed him to his chest, trying to get him to calm down. “Be quiet. Just breathe.”

“I can’t. I can’t do it--whatever it is. I’m not--I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. They made a mistake, tell them--”

Bucky did the only thing he could think to do to shut Tony up: he kissed him. Tony’s hands opened and closed, flexing fingers in thin air. Then he grabbed Bucky’s hair, pulling, kissing him desperately. Tony’s whole body started trembling, and Bucky pulled back to make sure he wasn’t having a stroke.

Tony was crying. “This isn’t real.” He sank to the floor, hugging himself. “This isn’t. It’s not real. You’re not real.” He looked up at Bucky. “Am I losing my mind?”

Bucky sighed. He’d really fucked this one up beyond all recognition. “No. You’re not.” He scooped Tony up and carried him upstairs to the loft. Bucky settled Tony in the blankets and slipped in to hold him close.

“I like this.” But Tony was still crying.

“Yeah, you seem real happy.”

“Shut up, you dreamy cyborg!” Tony buried his face in Bucky’s chest, and he could feel the tears soaking through his shirt. “I hate you. Why did you have to tell me that?”

“I shouldn’t have told you that,” Bucky agreed.

“Please. I can’t sleep.” Tony’s eyes looked up at his, pleading. “Help me sleep?”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Bucky asked.

“Help.” Tony tugged at his waistband, hinting at what he wanted.

“No.”

“Why not?” Tony’s eyes were filling with tears again. “I’m Sarah Connor, right? That means you have to make sweet love to me.”

Bucky kissed Tony’s forehead apologetically. “No.” Tony had a whole future ahead of him. A wife and family, Steve had said.

Tony sagged against him. “I hate this.” It was quiet for too long.

“I’m sorry.” Why hadn’t Bucky thought it through? He’d been so careful since he’d gotten here.

Tony’s voice was muffled against his shirt. “Can I jerk off?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“I mean when we’re like this!”

 _Fine_. Bucky sighed. “Turn around, though.”

“Why?” Tony’s lower lip quivered.

“Because it’s for you, not me.”

 

*

 

“Fine.” Tony squirmed around so that he was spooned against Bucky. And then it occurred to him: was this just like a job to Bucky? Was he just doing it to get Tony to calm down? He sagged, defeated. Tony didn’t want it like this. Well, he DID, physically. But ultimately, he didn’t.

“Are you gonna do it?” Bucky asked.

“No. Nevermind, false alarm.” Bucky rested his face against the back of Tony’s neck, making Tony’s neck hairs all stand on end. He could feel Bucky’s breath. “What the hell, Barnes?”

“Just do it,” Bucky said softly. “If it’ll help.”

“No.” Tony rolled over on his stomach, moving away from Bucky. “I don’t--I’ll wait till you go out.” It wasn’t like Tony hadn’t been jerking off wildly at any opportunity, imagining all the things he and Bucky might do since he'd first laid eyes on Barnes.

“If that’s what you want.” Tony couldn’t help feeling angry that it had been so easy to dissuade Barnes. Bucky really didn’t care, did he? Tony cried quietly into his pillow. After a few minutes, Bucky noticed and rubbed his back. “I want to go home,” Tony cried. “I want--” _my mom._ “I want--” _Jarvis._ “I want--” _to feel normal again._ He felt Bucky sit up on the mattress next to him.

“You wanna go home? I’ll take you home.”

“No!” Tony sat up, punching the mattress. “We came here to stop a terrorist, so we’re going to stop a terrorist!”

“And then I’ll take you home.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, angry that Bucky had said it first. Now he didn’t want to, just out of spite. “We’ll see!”

“Fine.”

Why was Bucky so calm all the time!? “Fine!” Tony was speechless when Bucky leaned forward and kissed him again. He felt boneless, sagging back into the mattress, reaching for Bucky, who kept kissing him, stroking his hair and caressing his cheeks until Tony actually did fall asleep. _That jerk._

 


	8. White Jesus Isn't Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Tony get closer. It's a bad idea. Bucky owes it to Shuri and T'Challa to at least try to save N'Jobu and N'Jadaka. He, Tony, and Goose travel to Oakland, play basketball, and chat with Erik Stevens.

The next day, Bucky shot Klaue. Leaving the bar with his friends, drunk and under the influence of drugs, he was an easy target. Bucky put two bullets in his skull, and stayed in his blind until the ambulance came and declared time of death. It had almost been too easy.

Unfortunately, N’Jobu would still be looking to team up with someone to steal the vibranium. Which meant Wakanda was still in danger. There were only two options now to prevent tragedy: Bucky could go to Wakanda and try to warn them of an attack that might never come. Or. He could go straight to the source on a fool’s errand: try to convince N’Jobu not to commit treason.

“So it’s over,” Tony asked, when Bucky came back with fresh bread and wine to celebrate. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Bucky said.

“You killed a man today. Just like that.”

Bucky sensed something in Tony’s tone. “That’s the job.”

Tony was just looking at him, his eyes glistening with tears.

“I told you, Tony. I’m not a good person. I know you like me, but I’m not like other people.”

“I know,” Tony whispered, touching Bucky’s face as a tear rolled down Tony’s cheek. “You’re better.”

Bucky recoiled from the suggestion. “Tony, I’m not a man, I’m a machine. A machine built for killing.” The sooner Tony realized that, the safer he’d be.

“Good thing I’m a mechanic, then,” Tony murmured, kissing Bucky’s knuckles. “Can’t operate a machine forever without a good mechanic close by.”

Bucky was frustrated Tony wasn’t getting the point. But he’d been trying to be cute. _Just let him_ , Bucky told himself. What were a few seconds of happiness to him? Bucky would be sad again soon enough. When Tony kept hold of his hand, Bucky got a sinking feeling.

“Why did you keep kissing me last night?” he asked.

“It helped you fall asleep...right?”

“Well, yeah.” Tony reached up to tease a strand of Bucky’s hair. “But there are other ways. So why that one?”

Bucky thought about it. “Well I guess...I found one that worked.” But Bucky knew he wasn’t being completely honest. “It...was kind of nice, I guess. I haven’t been able to be close to people for most of my life.”

“What’s your life been like, Bucky Barnes?” Tony asked, brushing the hair back from Bucky’s face, though it just fell right back.

“Lonely. Sometimes.” Bucky had never thought a lot about what it had felt like before. Self-reflection hadn’t been his highest priority under Hydra, and his quiet time in Wakanda had been about decades of psychological damage and brain trauma.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” Tony whispered, arching up to kiss him. It was tempting. What a sweet happy ending it might be, if this were some kind of romantic thriller.

But this wasn't a story. It was real. And real life had never ended the way Bucky might have wanted it to.

_Tony died. He sacrificed himself to save all of us._

Maybe the strangest part of time travel was feelings. Bucky had no contingency plan for emotions. How could you grieve someone who was still alive? Miss someone you’d just talked to a few days ago, because the friend you'd held in your memory all these years was not the man he’d become?

“Come on.” Bucky gently pried Tony off him. “Time to go.”

“So whereto now, Kyle Reese?”

“I thought you were going home.” But Bucky could already see the determined look on Tony’s face that meant no.

“What, after I just finished my exo-suit? Forget it. I’m ready to fight the queen alien.” Bucky was sure it was a movie reference of some kind, because almost all of Tony’s jokes were. But he was afraid to tell Tony how close that might be to his actual future.  

“You won’t need it,” Bucky said. “We’re going to Oakland.”

“California?” Tony lit up. “Here I come!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Bucky warned him. "It’s not going to be a pleasant flight."  

 

*

 

“Why do I feel like sticking with you is going to mean 12th class accommodations all the way?” Tony complained, getting bounced around in the stolen plane.

“Build a stealth plane and I’ll fly it,” Bucky said. “Till then, we have to stay under the radar any way we can.”

“You know I’ll do it,” Tony said.

“No one’s stopping you.” But he wasn't sure even Tony could pull that one off.

“So we’re landing at Travis, right? Okay if I call Rhodey?”

Bucky glanced over his shoulder at Tony. “You wanna go down to Edwards for a visit?”

“No.” Tony was using his holier than thou voice. “I want to see if he wants to come with _us_.”

“He just finished leave,” Bucky said. “I doubt they’ll let him take more.”

As it turned out, they wouldn’t. And Tony held Bucky being right against him. Bucky received the silent treatment all the way from the rented storage locker where they stowed Tony’s armor to the nearest branch of the Alameda County public library, so they could do some research.

“Wow, you can actually read?” Tony asked when they walked in, still miffed.

“Are you done?” Bucky asked him. “I need your help, Sarah Connor. Can you hack into the state correctional database?”

“Does a zebra have stripes?” Tony’s fingers were already moving over the keys too quickly for Bucky to follow.

“You’re looking for a woman named Elaine Stevens. It’ll be some bullshit charge.”

“How am I supposed to know what a bullshit charge is?” Tony asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Okay, here’s one: possession with the intent to distribute, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer…life? They gave this woman life for holding two kilos?”

Bucky sighed. No time to fix the broken criminal justice system today. And for all they knew, Hydra could have had a hand in shitting on Stevens’ due process. “What’s her last known residence?”

 

*

 

From West Dublin/Pleasanton, they took Bay Area Rapid Transit to 12th Street and walked to the Oakland address. Next to the run-down government subsidized housing complex that was their destination, young children were playing basketball in a vacant lot with a single rusty hoop and cracked backboard.

Bucky stood outside of the chain link fence, looking carefully at each child in turn. None of them stood out as different to him, but one of them might be the boy he was looking for. Bucky doubted N’Jobu would have isolated his son from normal childhood exercise like this.

“So.” Tony said. “You come all the way across the globe to stare at little kids often?” Before Bucky could give him a smart answer for his smartass question, Goose jumped from her usual perch on Tony’s shoulders and zipped through a hole in the fence.

“Goose, no!” How Tony managed to squeeze through the same opening the cat fit through was beyond Bucky. He had to walk around the fence and come in from the street entrance.

“Hey, look! It’s a cat!” a child shouted, pointing.

“So what? It’s a cat. Who cares?” A boy said.

“Throw the ball at it!” Another boy suggested.

“No, don’t!” one of the smaller boys shouted.

Bucky watched as the boy dropped the ball to run over and greet Goose as if he were seeing an old friend. “Hey, cat. What’s wrong? You lost?”

“Actually, that’s my--” Bucky put a hand over Tony’s mouth before he could finish, wanting to see what the boy would do. But he was too late. The boy looked up, suddenly shy of the two strangers.

“Oh, is this your cat?”

“We’ve seen her around,” Bucky answered, trying to ignore Tony licking the palm of his hand in revenge for being silenced. “I think she likes you.”

“I like cats,” the boy said, extending his worn sleeve toward Goose, who sniffed it approvingly. When she allowed him to pet her head, the boy’s face lit up.

“Erik, what are you doing?” One of the children called over.

“He found another cat,” a girl explained, disapproving.

“Man, what is it with him and cats?”

The small boy looked over his shoulder, nervous about disappointing his friends. “I better go.” When he stopped petting Goose, she reached out and placed her paw on top of his hand. “Oh wow, so soft!” The boy looked like he might cry. Tony had stopped teasing Bucky. He was watching the boy now, too, clutching his heart.

Bucky let go of Tony to kneel down in front of the boy. _“Your Highness,_ ” he said in Xhosa.

The boy looked momentarily confused, and Tony was about to tell Bucky to stop being ridiculous and talking to other people’s children when the boy reached out, trying to look dignified as he placed his palm on Bucky’s head. _“How do you know me?”_ the boy asked.

 _“Your cousins sent me,”_ Bucky told him. _“From Wakanda.”_

 _“You can’t be from Wakanda,”_ the boy said. _“Baba says colonizers aren’t allowed there.”_

_“I’m your cousins’ servant.”_

Erik nodded, as though this made sense. _“But why are you here? Why did they send you?”_

_“They heard you were here, and wanted to meet you.”_

_“I didn’t even know I have cousins,”_ Erik admitted. _“I want to meet them, too. But baba says we have to get mom out of prison before we can continue fighting the oppressors.”_

 _“How’s he going to do that?”_ Bucky asked.

Erik shrugged. _“He has a lot of guns. He thinks I don’t know, but I do.”_

It was disturbing to hear a small boy talk about this so casually. _“Do you think your mother would want him to get her out of jail with guns?”_

Erik shook his head. _“My mom believes in guns to protect the community from militarized police sent here to hurt us. My mom says baba has so much passion he can lose his head sometimes. She says he needs Jesus.”_ Erik paused, looking at Bucky for a moment. “ _You kind of look like white Jesus.”_

Bucky smiled. _“In Wakanda, my name is White Wolf.”_

 _“Way better,”_ Erik said. _“Anyway, white Jesus isn’t real. He wasn’t from Europe. Everybody knows that.”_ As they talked, Goose walked in slow circles around Erik, purring and rubbing against his legs. _“Hey, I really like your friend’s cat.”_

_“Looks like she likes you, too. I bet she knows you’re Wakandan.”_

“ _I think she does_ ,” Erik said, crouching down to pet her again.

“ _Maybe there’s a way we can get your mom out of jail without using guns._ ”

Erik thought about it. _“I don’t know. Maybe a better lawyer?”_

Bucky looked around for Tony, and found he’d gone over to entertain the rest of the children by pretending to play basketball against them very badly, complete with pratfalls and bouncing the ball off of his face. Who knew he was good with kids?

 _“Do you know one?”_ Erik asked. _“Mom doesn’t have money for a real lawyer, just this clown they assigned her from the public defender’s office.”_

 _“I might know someone who does…_ ” Bucky began.

“Erik! Get up here right now!” Bucky looked up to see a man shouting from the 8th floor. It had to be the prince.

“Sorry. I gotta go,” Erik told Bucky. “Bye, cat! It was nice meeting you!” He actually stopped and turned back to wave to Goose.

“Don’t forget about your cousins!” Bucky called after him, but Erik darted away without another word. _That’s the guy who starts a civil war?_ What a difference a couple of decades had made. _He’s just a kid._ Bucky’s first instinct was to protect him.

He looked over at Tony with his audience of smiling children, giggling as they played keep-away from him while Tony tried desperately to catch the ball, but kept tripping over himself. Bucky walked over to join them. “You having a good time, boss?” He grinned.

Before Bucky knew it, the two of them had challenged the kids to a game. It was fun dribbling the ball back and forth and watching the children win--he wasn’t even trying that hard to let them.

Bucky was so engrossed in the game, he didn’t notice when a man walked out of the building and came toward them. He was fairly menacing for a guy closer to Tony’s height than Bucky’s. “Yo, move along. There’s no reason for grown men to be playing with kids. I’m not gonna tell you twice.”

Bucky should have been paying attention to the handgun the man was so clearly pointing at him inside the pocket of his bomber jacket. Instead, Bucky got distracted by the man’s face. He looked oddly familiar. Bucky could almost place it. “...Zuri?”

The man flinched, and Bucky knew immediately he’d made a mistake. Knowing didn’t stop Zuri from firing two rounds into his chest, though. As he fell back, Bucky saw the children scatter like raindrops. It was like an out of body experience; Bucky could have sworn he saw Goose looking down at him from one of the apartment windows. It looked like Tony was running toward him in slow motion. Bucky wanted to tell him to stay back, but he couldn’t speak. Then everything went black.


	9. I Thought You Were Dead, Asshole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Bucky gets shot, Tony has a nervous breakdown. The close call breaks down the last barrier Bucky was keeping between them. Tony makes Bucky take him to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch and places a traceable phone call, much to Bucky's dismay.

 

When Bucky regained consciousness, Tony was performing CPR on him. Bucky didn’t have the heart to tell him he was doing it wrong. “Hey.” He reached out to stop Tony. “It’s okay. I’m alright.”

Tony collapsed on Bucky with panicked sobs. How the hell were they supposed to get out of here without anyone seeing them? At least the sun had had the decency to set while Bucky was passed out.

Wherever Goose had gone, she hadn’t answered when they’d called. After getting shot, they weren’t prepared to spend a lot of time looking for her. Getting up, Bucky half-carried, half-dragged Tony back to the train station, where they took a seat to plan their next move. They took the train into the city, where Maria had made Howard buy her a painted lady on Knobb Hill for their 10th wedding anniversary. It wasn’t a registered Stark property, so hopefully SHIELD wouldn’t know about it. The whole way there, Tony was oddly quiet, his expression closed. Bucky wasn’t feeling so hot himself, so he took the time to gather his thoughts.

The painted lady was gorgeous, lavender with pale yellow trim. Tony found the key hidden in a secret compartment Howard had invented, and let them in. Bucky slumped into the nearest chair with Tony close behind, just staring quietly at him. Now that they were alone, Bucky fished inside his army surplus jacket to peel the collapsed bullets from his vibranium vest. He placed them on the end table, sitting back with a deep breath.

“I thought you were dead, asshole!” Tony shouted, grabbing the bullets and tossing them away before slapping Bucky with both hands, any part of Bucky he could reach.

“What the--!” Bucky ducked into his jacket, trying to shield the blows.

Finally Tony let up to wander around the house, continuing to cuss Bucky out. While Tony was banging pots and pans around in the kitchen, Bucky went to take a shower. Identifying himself like that to an adult had been a huge mistake. Would Zuri think his cover was blown and go back home? And, if he did, would N’Jobu be better or worse off without his second? Most importantly, did the prince still have contact with Klaue’s gang now that Klaue was no more? Bucky winced at the bruises the bullets had left in his chest.

The shower curtain opened suddenly, and an angry Tony was standing there with a half-eaten block of cheese. “You wanna tell me how you survived getting shot in the chest today, Barnes?”

Barnes, huh? Bucky must really be in trouble. “Well, there’s this stuff called vibranium...” But Tony was no longer paying attention to what Bucky was saying. He’d dropped the block of cheese in the claw foot tub, and was staring at Bucky’s metal arm. Bucky had gone to great lengths to keep it under wraps until now.

“Holy Robocop, is that what that is?” Tony climbed into the tub, clothes and all.

“Uh...Tony?” Bucky doubted Tony realized what he was doing. This was a big reason why Bucky hadn’t let Tony see his arm. Tony reached for it, mesmerized, running his fingers along the textured surface of Bucky’s arm. “It’s beautiful. Gold?” He traced the patterns formed by the metal plates.

Bucky shrugged. “Probably some kind of--”

“Alloy,” Tony said it with him. “That’s what I used, too.” Tony looked up at him. “Did you make this?”

Bucky couldn’t help a laugh. “Am I smart enough to make something like this? You know the answer to that.”

Tony scowled and swatted at Bucky again. “Don’t pretend you’re dumb, Kyle Reese. Maybe _you_ buy that line of BS but I don’t!”

What was that supposed to mean? While Bucky pondered it, Tony went back to playing with his arm. “I admit, my African languages are pretty lacking. I only learned to read Hieroglyphics for fun, and French and Arabic only gets you so far. But I heard you say ‘Wakanda’ to the kid today. More than once.” Bucky wasn’t sure how to answer that. “That’s where vibranium comes from,” Tony said. “Is that where this comes from, too?”

Since he’d asked where and not when, Bucky figured he could answer. “Yeah.”

“How?” Tony looked up at him. “They’re supposedly a third world nation. How can they have metallurgy this advanced?”

Bucky shrugged. “I can’t really--”

“If you tell me you can’t really talk about it one more time--” Tony threatened. “Just, shut it, soldier. I’m gonna wash you.”

“Tony, I don’t need--” But it was too late. Tony had already grabbed the soap from him. “At least take off your clothes.” He was soaked through.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Tony snapped.

“You’re not my dad,” Bucky said, before Tony could. Tony glared at him, crouching at Bucky’s feet for a minute before launching himself at Bucky’s lips.

“Now you listen to me, and you listen good, Barnes.” It was a little weird getting scolded so intensely with the scolder hanging from your shoulders. “I thought you died today. Get me? I thought you were doornail-dead. So don’t you fucking sass me. Because I pretty much had a mental breakdown today because of you.”

Bucky tried to see it from Tony’s point of view. Bucky had  gotten pretty careless with his physical safety over the years. He’d always made it in the end, but a normal person wouldn’t know that. “I’m sorry,” Bucky said.

“Don’t you ‘sorry’ me, Barnes.” Tony kissed him. “Say it again.”

“I’m sorry, Tony.”

“No.” Tony looked angry, and he kissed Bucky harder. “Again.”

Tony was so intense. It was as though he felt everything twice as much as the next guy. Bucky slid his hand down the curve of Tony’s back, saying softly, “I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry you thought I was dead.”

That was it. That seemed to be the magic phrase, because then Tony was throwing himself at Bucky, wrapping his legs around Bucky’s hips, demanding more. Bucky could taste Tony’s desperation, and gave in. Not just for Tony. Bucky knew it was wrong, but it felt like they had a real connection now. Why fight it? Just this once. Maybe just this once it would be okay...

After, Bucky lay awake, while Tony slept peacefully beside him on the pillow. That had been nice, but it couldn’t happen again. Tony was already too attached to him. And the further this went, the more difficult it would be for Tony to live the life he was meant to live. What had happened tonight was pure self-indulgence; tomorrow Bucky had to go back to business as usual. Tomorrow, he’d have to find a way to send Tony back to his parents. Tomorrow…

“So what’s our next move, Kyle Reese?” Bucky hadn’t realized Tony was awake. Tony moved to pillow his head on Bucky’s chest, drawing slow circles over Bucky’s sternum with his thumb.  “Who do we save next?”

“I’m not--”

“--from the future, uh huh? Got that one down, Pinnocchio.”

That made what Bucky had to ask that much more awkward. “Can you do me a favor?”

Tony propped himself up on one elbow, leaning over Bucky to trace the line of his cheekbone. “For you, cupcake? Anything.”

“Can you send one of the company lawyers to help Elaine Stevens with her appeal?”

Tony fell back against the pillows. “Ugh! Is that all?”

Bucky wasn’t sure how to take that reaction. Had Tony thought he was going to ask for something else? Oh no--what had he thought Bucky was going to ask for?

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Bucky bear.” Tony patted him. “It’s taken care of.”

Bucky turned his head to look at Tony. “It is?”

“I made a few calls while you were in the shower. Sweet kid like that? No way he’s the product of some menace to society who deserves to be locked up for life.”

“Are you--” Bucky was shocked. How did Tony anticipate what he was going to ask?

“--serious? Oh, sugar. I’m dead serious.” Sometimes with Tony, Bucky felt like a big dumb animal, moving as slow as a tortoise while Tony zipped around his head like a lightning bug.

Wait, where had Tony gone? Case in point. Tony had just been here, lying next to him, and now--Bucky realized where Tony had gone when he felt lips on his pelvis under the blankets.

“Tony, that’s not what I--”

“Shhh. Time to get serious.” Bucky’s brain stopped functioning after that.

 

*

 

In the morning, Bucky stared at his steaming mug of coffee, sitting at the kitchen countertop, trying to get his brain organized. Even after months of therapy in Wakanda, his memories were so iffy…

“Lapdance for your thoughts,” Tony said, coming over to lean his chin on Bucky’s shoulder.

Had Bucky done enough here to save the future? He just didn’t know. What would it take to convince N’Jobu not to lead an attack on his own country? And would trying just get Bucky shot again? How much time did he have--

Tony’s cold fingers crept up his shirt, halting Bucky’s train of thought. He caught them before they went too far. “Cut it out.”

“I’m bored.” Tony pouted.

“Call your mom,” Bucky said. “She’s probably worried sick about you.” The morning paper glared up at them from the end of the counter. _HOWARD STARK DISAPPEARS! What does this mean for Stark International?_

“Call her how?” Tony’s arms were wrapped around Bucky’s waist now, his chin still a parrot on Bucky’s shoulder. “It’s not like she left a forwarding number.”

“Call Carter. Peggy will know how to get in touch with them.” Tony clearly didn’t like this answer, because he buried his face in the back of Bucky’s neck for a few seconds.

“Fine.” Tony unwrapped himself from Bucky and walked toward the phone.

“Hold on,” Bucky told him. “Don’t call from here. We’ll use a payphone.” If they kept it under 60 seconds, no one should be able to trace the call.

A slow smile spread across Tony’s face. “Does that mean you’re taking me out?”

“No.”

“I think you’re taking me on a date, Sergeant Barnes.”

“No I’m not.”

 

*

 

They ended up at Pier 39, which was almost too noisy to hear Aunt Peggy over the payphone. Tony wrote down what she told him on Bucky’s hand with a pen. “Happy?” Bucky asked him when he hung up.

“I will be if you get me a crab salad sandwich from the guy down the pier.”

Bucky sighed, exasperated. “Just don’t talk longer than 40 seconds.”

“And cocktail sauce!” Tony called after him.

But when Bucky returned, Tony was still on the phone. He had to take the phone from Tony’s fingers and return it to the cradle himself.

“Hey, I was using that, in case you hadn’t noticed!” Tony complained.

“What did I say?”

“It was Jarvis. I can talk to Jarvis, can’t I?”

Bucky nearly threw the sandwich in his frustration. “No.”

“But it’s just Jarvis. Why can’t I talk to Jarvis?”

“Kill me.” Bucky clearly needed to do a better job of protecting Tony from himself.

By the time they got home on the trolley, Tony had launched into apology mode. “Okay, I really screwed the pooch on this one. _Mea culpa_. Tell me how I can make you smile again?”

Bucky looked worried. “Did I smile before?”

“Yeah.” Tony grinned. “Well, almost, when I--” Bucky put a finger on Tony’s lips.

“That was a one time deal,” he said.

“I don’t understand why.” But from the gloom in Tony’s voice, he had already begun to accept it. “Do we have to pack right away?”

Bucky sighed, running fingers through his hair, trying to calculate how quickly Hydra could find out about the house. “We probably have a few hours.”

“Good, then I’m taking a nap.” Bucky watched him quietly as Tony marched up the stairs, clearly hurt. It couldn’t be helped. Bucky was probably going to have to hurt him a lot more if Tony was this attached. It wasn’t something Bucky wanted to think about.


	10. Mine to Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy arrives to whisk Tony and Bucky to safety. A crack team of ageing war veterans awaits.

Tony had barely been upstairs for 30 minutes when the doorbell rang. Bucky grabbed the .38 he’d found in Howard’s gun safe and moved silently to the nearest window overlooking the front porch. He was surprised to see Agent Carter standing there. Hadn’t Tony just been speaking to her on the phone?

It looked like she was alone. Bucky went to the door to let her in. “How did you--”

“Anthony placed several phone calls last night; all of them traceable. Really, Sergeant. I’d have thought you would be more careful.”

 _Shit._ Bucky hadn’t even thought that the lawyers might have had their phones tapped, or been questioned by agents. Maybe he was getting rusty. ...Or distracted. “I guess you came to get Tony,” Bucky said. Why did he feel disappointed at the prospect?

“Much as his parents would like to see him,” Peggy said, “I think it may be best to keep them separate for now.” Why did that make Bucky feel better? “Though not here, obviously.”

“Right. Only I have some things to wrap up here…” Wait, did that mean Peggy would be taking Tony with her?

“Elaine Stevens will be released from prison by order of the governor on Monday,” Peggy said.

Bucky just stared. How did she--

“This is California,” Peggy explained. “I have a number of contacts from my post-war work with the Strategic Scientific Reserve.”

Honestly, Bucky was more surprised that she had figured out his goal. “So what happens now?” Bucky asked.

“I was hoping you could tell me that, Sergeant.” Peggy gestured for Bucky to have a seat. “If you can, I’d like you to make a list of...incidents...you may recall. Incidents you’d like addressed.” When Bucky sat down at the counter, she passed him a legal notepad and pen. “Take your time. Try to relax. I understand your memory of things may be a bit worn.”

“Worn doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“Do your best.” Peggy placed her hands on his shoulders, encouragingly. “I’ve assigned a special forces unit to assist you. They can provide you with any resources you’ll need. I don’t want to see you on the front lines any longer, if it can be helped. What you know is too valuable to risk losing.”

Bucky was torn between feeling valued and feeling valued as an asset again. “I’ll try my best,” he told her. “But shouldn’t we be leaving? If you found us here, I’m sure Hydra can, too.”

“Our flight will leave as soon as we’re ready. We have time, Sergeant. Please. Focus.”

 

*

 

While Bucky wracked his brain, Peggy went upstairs to give her nephew the news. “I’m not leaving Bucky,” Tony told her, defensive.

“No one asked you to,” Peggy replied. “Not yet, at least.”

“I’m not. I won’t do it.” Tony hugged his pillow to his chest.

“Anthony.” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Surely you know this can’t last.”

“Sure it can,” Tony said. “There’s no Terminator after us, so by my calculation, we should be good.”

She looked at him with pity in her eyes.

“Is mom okay?” Tony changed the subject.

“Both of your parents are fine.”

 

*

 

Bucky had only managed to write down a handful of events before Peggy came back downstairs with several crates full of Tony’s gear and equipment. “We should go.”

Bucky handed her the list. “I couldn’t remember much. I’m sorry.”

She took it and photographed it before folding the paper into a hidden pocket in her dress. “Don’t worry, there will be other opportunities. Try to relax for now.” A car was waiting outside to take them to the airport. Bucky had a bad feeling about this; it shouldn’t have been so easy.  

It definitely wasn’t where Tony was concerned. He didn’t let go of Bucky’s arm from the time they walked out of the house all the way to the private jet. Somewhere over the Atlantic, Tony finally fell asleep, and Bucky got his arm back. Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to write another list.

“Are you sure Elaine’s going to be okay?” he looked up after a few minutes to ask Peggy.

“There’s no reason you can’t stay in touch with the family,” she told him. “If you wish. We can find ways around tracking phone calls.”

Bucky sighed. “I don’t even know what I would say. ...as long as they don’t get targeted again…”

Peggy hesitated. “I’m glad you brought that up.” Bucky had a sinking feeling. “I was hoping to ask for your assistance on another matter. It seems the agency may have been compromised…”

 _“_ I’ll say,” Bucky said, eliciting a deep frown from Peggy.

“I was hoping you could look through our rosters. Employee photographs. Identify anyone you may remember as a threat.”

“Sure.” That would be way easier for Bucky than trying to remember events he had only tangentially been a part of.

But Agent Carter was still frowning. “I’m sorry, Bucky. We failed you. We failed all of us.”

“Hey.” Bucky put his notebook aside. “You didn’t know. Guys like Howard, they pushed for stuff without worrying about the consequences, without looking at the long term.”

“But I should have seen it coming. I should have prevented it.”

 _Yeah_ , Bucky thought. _If only she’d had someone from the future to warn her about that stuff._ He got up and walked over to sit next to her. “You’re just one person. There’s only so much you could do.”

“I founded the agency,” Peggy said, passionately. “It’s mine to lose.”

Bucky put his hand over hers. “Then let’s not lose it.”

Peggy nodded, composing herself in a matter of seconds. “I’ve been meaning to ask...Might one inquire...about your new prosthetic?”

Bucky looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, I can’t really say.”

“Perhaps someday.”

“I hope so.” But it had to be their choice, not his, and Bucky was decades away from Wakanda and home.

 

*

 

When they landed in Heathrow, another car was waiting to take them to their final destination. Tony was still asleep, so Bucky carried him to the car while Peggy looked on with eyebrow raised.

“This is one of the safest places I could think to bring you,” Peggy told him in the car. “And you should know, when I asked for volunteers to join your mission, there were several voices too loud to ignore.” Bucky wasn’t sure what to say to that. But it was less than two hours before the car was pulling in to a historic estate. Tony was awake by then.

“I feel like I just stepped into a regency novel,” Tony said, starry-eyed.

Bucky wasn’t sure what that was, but the way Tony had said it made him nervous. The eight foot tall front door was opened by Mr. Jarvis, surprisingly enough. “Sir.”

“Jarvis!” Tony dropped his bags and rushed the old man, nearly knocking him over in the process of giving him a fierce hug.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis greets Bucky coldly. “Welcome to Deepdene.”

“You made out pretty well for a butler,” Bucky said, amazed by the museum of artifacts he could see in the grand hallway beyond Jarvis.

When Jarvis frowned, Tony turned on Bucky. “Don’t call him a butler!”

“Well, jeez, excuse me. It’s still a nice damn house.”

“I’m so pleased to hear you say it,” a voice spoke up behind Jarvis. When he and Tony moved out of the way, Bucky could see the man the voice belonged to; an elderly man in a wheelchair, with eyes as sharp as Bucky remembered.

“Lieutenant?” Bucky had thought he was used to this whole time travel thing, but his brain was having trouble reconciling his memories with what was before his eyes.  

“Well I’ll be damned.” Jones’ grin was infectious.

 _“Putain!”_ Had Dernier ever learned English?

“Nice to see you, too, asshole.” Morita crossed his arms over his chest. Bucky was speechless. He hadn’t been this emotional since...since…

“Fuck it, I’m giving him a hug!” Dugan declared, lumbering over and catching Bucky up in an aged bear hug.

“Holy shit! It’s the Howling Commandos!” Tony ran to his bags, searching desperately for a camera.

“May I introduce my son, Brian?” Falsworth said, gesturing to the genteel middle-aged man gripping the handles of his wheelchair.

“It’s--it’s great to meet you,” Bucky stammered, reaching to shake Brian’s hand. This was beyond overwhelming.

“Father always did say you had the best looks of the group.” Brian smiled.

“Hey, fuck you, Monty,” Gabe said, good-naturedly.

“I resemble that remark,” Morita grinned, taking it in stride.

_“Your mother smells of elderberries!”_

“Hey, but he’s cheating,” Dugan said. “Some of us aged, you know.”

Bucky had no words to express this feeling. These were his friends. He should be like them. Bucky could tell they were envious of him, but he had the overwhelming feeling of having been left behind. He wanted to catch up, take back all the years and join them.

Tony was beside himself, fanboy-ing all over the room, asking for autographs, and generally trying his hardest to make all of them love him.  

“I expect you gentlemen have some things to discuss,” Peggy said, interrupting the moment.

“Yes, Ma’am.” The reply was a chorus.

“Catch me up when you’re able,” she said. “And tell me anything you need.”

“Certainly, Marm,” Jarvis inclined his head to her respectfully.

“Well, then,” Peggy looked at each of the Commandos in turn. “Get to work. I’ll be in touch.”

 

*

 

“Bye, Aunt Peggy!” Tony followed the Commandos into a large war room, like an excited puppy and listened while they took in Bucky’s information and strategized solutions. Or, at least, he would have, if Brian hadn’t shut Tony out of the room the second the conversation got interesting.

“My apologies, Master Stark. I’m afraid you haven’t full clearance here.”

“What? But I’m Dick to his Bruce!” Tony protested. “I’ve been with him this whole time before you showed up.”

“Apologies,” Brian repeated, closing the door in Tony’s face. Tony was seriously considering blasting it open with one of his new repulsors, when Jarvis appeared at the end of the hall.

“I don’t suppose you’d care to help me in the kitchen, Sir?”

“Sure,” Tony sulked. “Not like I have anything better to do.”

 

 


	11. Happy 1992

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Howling Commandos Christmas Reunion will be followed by Sexy New Year's Eve, starring Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes.  
> Tony wins a Star Wars marathon date with Bucky, and the Howling Commandos Rescue the girls from the Red Room, making Tony a dad at the ripe old age of 18.

That Christmas was a Howling Commandos Reunion Christmas, just the six of them, plus Brian. Bucky could tell it was hard for the guys being away from their families, but his age appearance would have been too difficult to explain, not to mention keep classified. It was hard for Bucky that Jarvis had taken Tony to spend the holidays with his parents. Bucky told himself it was foolish to miss him. Whatever he and Tony had started, it needed to end and end soon, for the good of Tony’s future.

The Howling Commandos continued to work in between play. By the end of the week, they’d come up with several plans. Talking with people who were better at seeing the big picture, Bucky realized there weren’t really many events he could single-handedly change with just a carefully-timed assassination. Bosnia, maybe. But the genocides on the horizon in Burundi and Rwanda, the continued conflicts and slaughter in Indonesia and Guatemala, those would all take negotiators and mediators. Bucky was both relieved and disappointed that he couldn’t do it all himself.

Bucky tried to make up for all the things he couldn’t do by poring over SHIELD files to weed out the Hydra agents. Although he kept in touch with Peggy on a regular basis, neither of them ever mentioned Steve. He existed in this quiet void between them, acknowledged but unspoken. For his part, Bucky found the less he thought about Steve and his betrayal, the better he felt; so he did his best not to think about Steve. However, Steve’s absence with the commandos was palpable. Bucky wondered if any of them knew he was still alive. If they didn’t know, he definitely was not going to be the one to tell them.

New Year’s Eve at the estate was quiet. Brian left for some big party in London, and Monty was resting. The chaos of hosting all of them for a week had worn him down; none of them were as young as they used to be. Virtually alone, Bucky climbed to the highest tower he could reach and watched the night sky. It was peaceful, and the cold didn’t bother him anyway. Bucky watched a star unstick itself from the firmament and travel slowly his way.

Actually, it was moving too slowly to be a falling star. Maybe it was an airplane? If so, it was a small one. Wait, was it coming toward him? Bucky turned as a suit of armor landed on the steepled roof behind him. A familiar robot face stared back at Bucky. “You really did it.”

“I had some time to kill,” Tony said, opening the visor, cool and casual. “Seems like you owe me a date, soldier.”

“Guess I do,” Bucky said.

But impressive as the suit looked, it was tricky getting it inside the house, and worse getting it off of Tony. “What do you do when I’m not here to help you get out?” Bucky asked. He’d been tempted to grab a can opener more than once during the process.

“Mostly just cry a lot,” Tony said.

“Very funny.”

They were sitting in front of the fire so Tony could warm up after his long flight when the clock struck midnight. “Happy New Year,” Tony said, almost shyly reaching for Bucky’s hand.

“Happy 1992,” Bucky said, and kissed him. He really had missed Tony. They ruined the couch that night.

But Tony’s actual reward for having won their bet came several days later, after Jarvis had joined them. Bucky had worried the date was going to be something socially taxing, in public. In fact, what Tony asked for  was an all-day movie marathon where he forced Bucky to watch laserdiscs of the entire Star Wars trilogy. While Tony and Bucky sat on the couch, Jarvis kept them supplied with popcorn and gourmet snacks. Bucky might have even enjoyed the movies except for Tony’s non-stop commentary, and his insistence that Bucky looked exactly like Luke Skywalker. Bucky didn’t see it, but it made Tony ecstatic, so he let Tony have it.

Sleeping together was more difficult with Jarvis around, so Tony set up a workshop in one of Falsworth’s garages and Bucky helped him, sort of like how they’d done in South Africa.

In between helping Tony in his workshop and going over SHIELD files for Peggy, Bucky began to plan. There was one last personal mission Bucky knew he could complete alone by brute force, if necessary. He couldn’t let the girls in the Red Room take the final exam. He had to get them out of there, no matter the cost.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to. As soon as Bucky mentioned it to Peggy and the other Commandos, they were committed. “The Red Room?” Dugan asked. “We busted up that racket back in ‘51, right Carter?”

“We found one group of girls,” Peggy said, “but it would seem the Red Room as a Russian institution continued on.”

“Sorry to tell you,” Bucky told Dum Dum. “There’s a training program active right now in St. Petersburg.”

“Well fuck that!” Morita stood up from the table.

“Hear, hear!” Falsworth agreed.

 _“Pedophile scum!”_ Dernier added.

“Boys...I may have to send my stand-in this time,” Gabe confessed.

“You got an understudy, Jones?” Dum Dum asked.

“I do. My youngest son, Nicholas. He’s been a SHIELD agent for nearly five years now,” Gabe said proudly.

“Nicholas...Jones,” Bucky guessed. It couldn’t be...

“No, he changed his name to Fury. Got some crazy idea in college he was gonna be an actor and needed a stage name. Well you see how far that got him.”

_Holy shit._

“Well break out the understudy, pilgrim!” Dugan did his best John Wayne impression.

“That’s a terrible impression,” Morita said.

“ _Fuck it. Let’s do it! Explosives for everyone!_ ” Dernier declared.

Bucky left Tony out of the equation. Howard had called him away again, and this really felt like Howling Commandos business.

 

*

 

Bucky snuck into the girls’ quarters through the air vent. He shouldn’t have been able to squeeze through, but he'd managed. The metal cover had been secured against the girls trying to escape, but it wasn’t secure against Bucky’s vibranium arm. As soon as he broke the cover, all of the girls sat up in bed at once, like hounds scenting prey. “ _All clear_?” he asked softly.

“Soldat?”

“Soldat? _I thought they put him away again_.” Bucky put the cover aside so that they could see him.

“ _All clear_ ,” Natasha said. She and Yelena were the only ones not standing by their beds, ready for inspection. Coincidentally, both of them had escaped before.

“ _Sparrow_ ,” Bucky said, their code word for escape. The hard part wasn’t getting the girls to trust him; Bucky had started training with them over a year ago. The hard part was convincing all of them that this was not a test of their obedience.

“ _Mistress will beat us if we leave_ ,” Petra said, while other girls were already dressed and armed for travel.

“ _Yevgenya never came back after she disobeyed_.” Marina said.

Bucky climbed down out of the vent. “ _I know you’re not afraid to do what has to be done_ ,” he said, looking around at 12 pairs of uncertain eyes. “ _But the institute is compromised. American dogs will be here soon.”_ In the distance, they could hear the first of Dernier’s charges detonating.

“ _Shouldn’t we fight them?_ ” Olga asked.

_“No. You’re too important to stay behind and fight. Remember--”_

“ _Only strong girls graduate,_ ” they said in unison. It was beyond eerie. Bucky helped the girls who were ready climb up into the vent. After a few minutes, the sleeping quarters looked just as they had before, minus all of the occupants.

Out of sight, Brian cleared the way for them while Nicholas, Morita, and Dugan helped Dernier with demolition. Bucky worried his three friends were getting too old for work like this, but everyone made it out in one piece. Peggy had an evacuation team ready to get them out of the country.

Once they were back in the UK and Bucky had convinced the girls not to murder every non-Russian they met, there was another problem.

“They’re dear children, but I’m afraid I’m simply not equipt to take care of so many…” Falsworth began.

“My wife would kill me,” Gabe said.

“ _I already have 15 grandchildren_!” Dernier said.

“Don’t look at me!” Morita said.

“I don’t do little girls,” Dum Dum said, weirdly.

“I suppose we could arrange a special boarding school for them,” Peggy suggested. But it sounded to Bucky too much like where they’d just come from. The girls all needed to be deprogrammed before the damage was permanent. That couldn’t be done at a boarding school.

 

*

 

“Whadja bring me, huh? Huh?” Tony asked, greeting Bucky at the door of his new house in Malibu.

“Well.” It was hard to hide the 12 inquisitive heads peering around Bucky to see inside the grand house by the ocean. “How do you feel about kids?”

“Shouldn’t you at least marry me first before you knock me up?” But Tony could see it was already too late to say no, and he’d always wanted an instant audience.

When he called Jarvis to come help, there was a long silence on the other line. “I was beginning to think I wouldn’t live to see grandchildren.” Tony assumed he was joking. He also assumed that meant Jarvis was happy to move in with them.

It took not only Jarvis’ superhuman parenting skills, but a village of therapists, experts, and doctors to help the girls of the Red Room adjust to their new lives as Americans. Bucky was devoted to them. They trusted him. In some ways, he was all they had. In time, many of the girls came to be fond of Tony, too, but it was years before they trusted him.


	12. Going Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Bucky struggle to be good parents while simultaneously launching into the superhero biz. A special fan letter from a certain fan takes them back to Oakland to invest in the social justice movement. When Howard cuts Tony off, Tony goes on sabbatical.

 

**1993**

Iron Man made his debut onto the world stage when Tony discovered Obadiah Stane had been selling Starktech weapons to the bad guys. “I warned you about that guy,” Bucky told him.

“Why do you think I hacked his computer?” Tony said. He just wished he could believe Stane had acted alone, and Howard had had no knowledge of it. Tony was really starting to wonder.

When Iron Man destroyed the weapons cache in Pakistan, he was joined by another armored superhero: White Wolf. Bucky wasn’t sure how he liked the anthropomorphic helmet Tony had created for him, but it really went over with the girls. They took to keeping the helmet on the kitchen counter where they would scratch it behind the ears and talk to it like it was the family pet. “Your children are strange,” Tony told Bucky.

“They’re just being kids,” Bucky said. The next week, Tony built them a robot dog who looked like White Wolf junior. The girls were over the moon. “You’re spoiling them,” Bucky told Tony.

“I’m their stepdad,” Tony said. “I’m supposed to bribe them into liking me.” And toys weren’t the only things Tony built for the girls. The house in Malibu wasn’t nearly big enough. There was one bedroom and one bathroom for every 2 girls, but that didn’t take into account that Bucky and Tony needed somewhere to sleep that wasn’t necessarily together (though Tony would have been fine with that) and probably should be soundproof. 

Tony built them a house in Washington state so that the girls could still enjoy a snowy season. In the new house, each girl had her own bedroom and bathroom, along with an indoor basketball court, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and stables. All little girls loved horses, right? Come to think of it, Tony had never had a horse, either. This way, everyone was happy. And if there was a secret sex dungeon hidden behind Tony’s private library, that was for him to know and Bucky to find out.

 

*

 

In superhero life, White Wolf wasn’t just a hit with their girls, he was a big hit with a lot of children. It was the Halloween costume of the year, which annoyed Tony to no end. “But Iron Man is the cool one!” he complained. 

“You designed him,” Bucky pointed out. Tony had no one to blame but himself.

“White Wolf is more cuddly,” Yekaterina told him.

“I can’t argue with that.” Tony smirked at Bucky from across the room, but Bucky gave him a warning look.

“Not in front of the girls,” was Bucky’s mantra. It definitely put a damper on their relationship, which was probably for the best. Bucky wasn’t trying to keep Tony from his destined future.

In spite of how busy their brood kept Tony and Bucky, Iron Man and White Wolf’s crime fighting days continued, thwarting Ten Rings and Hydra wherever they could find them. They started getting news coverage. Bucky could see Tony craved the attention. To prevent Tony from revealing their secret identities, Bucky set up a p.o. box where Tony could get their fan mail.

When he couldn’t sleep, Tony liked to read the letters, especially fan mail from children. One day, Bucky returned from yet another meeting with the girls’ vice principal to a hand-written letter left on his pillow.

_ Dear Iron Man and White Wolf, _

_ You are so cool. Thank you for fighting bad guys. Can I ask you a favor? Will you help us stop the police? My mom says they are the blunt force of our oppressors. Also can you please come to Greenleaf Elementary School? John Jacob doesn’t believe you are my friends. _

_ Cordially, _

_ Erik Stevens _

Underneath which, Erik had written ‘N’Jadaka’ in Wakandan script.

_ P.S. Goose says ‘hi.’ I think she misses you. Sometimes she looks up at the sky and meows for no reason. _

“I mean, how do you say no to a kid like that?” Tony asked. Bucky hadn’t realised Tony had walked into the room behind him.

“You don’t,” Bucky said. “But how do we stop the police?” Bucky knew all about corrupt law-enforcement first hand. SHIELD was almost Hydra-free now. But that didn’t mean the world was safe for democracy.

“I don’t know,” Tony said. “But I bet we know someone who does.”

 

*

 

Elaine Stevens had a lot of ideas, for justice system reform, to start holding the police accountable, and for community organizing. N’Jobu had ideas for mentoring and tutoring programs for children that would give them more role models and get them interested in math and engineering. The only thing they seemed to lack was publicity and full funding. Those were both things Tony could help with.

The family started spending weekends in Oakland. It was good for the girls to play with other children; Bucky worried they spent too much time cooped up with him and Tony (not that the Washington house wasn’t enormous).

The hard part came when the superheroes made their first appearance at a rally to protest police brutality. It was the first time Iron Man had received hate mail. It was also the last straw for Howard Stark.

“I went along with this at first because your mother said it was good for you. Even though you weren’t making any money--and you know how I feel about projects that don’t make money.” Tony sat quietly across the enormous dinner table from his father. Neither Jarvis nor his mother were here to see this. Howard always waited until they were alone to really let Tony have it. “But now...making yourself political! You’ve ruined your own brand before you’ve even started! What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking of helping people.”

“Helping people should not come free!” Howard shouted. “You’ve alienated 90% of your potential customer base. Do you know how many people care about equal rights, Tony? No people actually care. They just say they do because it’s what we’re supposed to say now.” It certainly sounded like the argument of a man who would have no qualms about selling weapons to Al-Qaeda.

“I care,” Tony said quietly. “If it means more kids can be excited about science instead of worrying where their next meal is coming from--”

“Don’t give me that bleeding heart bullshit!” Howard shouted. “You’re cut off!”

“...what?” When Howard got like this, it was hard to take things he said figuratively. Tony was half-expecting to look down and find blood.

“I’m cutting you off. Until you grow some sense and start using your brain to turn a profit. You’ve nearly bankrupted this family with your pointless charity projects.”

Tony knew Howard was speaking for himself; a good amount of the grant money had come from his mother’s foundation. “Fine.”

Howard didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. He got right up in Tony’s face. “Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

“Yeah. I’ll make my own money from now on.” Tony rose from the table and walked out. “Have a nice life, dad.”

 

**1994**

 

Public criticism of Iron Man coupled with Howard’s ultimatum hit Tony hard. He locked himself into his workshop in Malibu and took time off from both Iron Man and Tony Stark. 

When Tony exiled himself to California, it made Bucky’s life that much harder. He took care of the girls as best he could with Jarvis’ help and Peggy’s advice. When he could, Bucky took the girls to norcal so they could visit their cousin Erik and learn about civic engagement.

No matter where Bucky was in the world, he tried to check in with Tony at least once a day. But when Tony was onto something, he not only forgot to eat or sleep, he also forgot to take phone calls. After a three-day silence, Bucky returned to Malibu to make sure Tony was still alive. After a long search, Bucky found him on the terrace, looking down at the ocean. Tony didn’t have pants on, and Bucky doubted he’d bathed in less than a week. “Um...Tony?” He wasn’t thinking of jumping, was he?

“Sugarbear!” Tony jumped on him like an amorous koala. “It’s sustainable!”

“What is?”

“It’s renewable!” Tony was shaking him in his excitement.

“What?”

“We’re going green, turtledove! I project we’ll have taken over 75% of the utilities in the state by the end of the year!”

“How?” Whereas it was nice to see Tony excited about something again, Bucky was starting to worry about his mental health.

“This!” Tony produced a fist-sized cylinder from inside his open bathrobe. It was glowing, and humming so softly, Tony probably couldn’t hear it.

“What is--”

“It’s the future, my boy!”

“Okay, I’m gonna get you a shower and put you to bed,” Bucky said firmly.  

“To the future, boy wonder!” Tony gestured toward the house with his newest invention.

“When was the last time you ate?”

 

*

 

That was the last day of Tony’s exile. They were a family again shortly thereafter. And when Bucky and Tony needed a break from parenting, they dropped the girls off at their Aunt Peggy and Uncle Grant’s house. It was the only thing that made puberty bearable.

When the aliens came, the girls were at summer camp in the Borscht Belt with Maria and Jarvis, just like Tony used to do as a kid.


	13. At Least I Got to See an Alien's Wang Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang meets Captain Marvel and friends. Then the Ancient One crashes the party.

 

“An unidentified craft reportedly entered the atmosphere early this morning. Care to have a look?” Team Iron wasn’t affiliated with SHIELD, but Peggy wasn’t averse to sharing intel on a regular basis.

“Atmosphere? Like from space?” Bucky asked.

“That’s a hard yes,” Tony said. Bucky ran inside to make their excuses to the Stevens family. They’d come to Oakland to discuss Elaine’s run for mayor, but invading aliens took priority. Neither of them saw the hitchhiker clinging to Bucky’s armor as they made their way south.

By the time they'd tracked the landing site, their alien was long gone. So was the South Broadway Blockbuster. “Let’s continue in secret identity mode,” Tony said. “I want to play 20 questions with those SHIELD agents.”

As they changed, Goose jumped off of Bucky’s armor. “It’s a baby!” Tony cooed at her. And suddenly they had a sidekick.

When they walked back to the Blockbuster, a nondescript man in a suit approached them. “Hi.” There was no way he was not a government agent of some kind. “You guys work with SHIELD sometimes, right? My partner left me behind by accident…”

You

“You want a ride?” Tony asked in disbelief.

“If you don’t mind,” the man smiled mildly.

“Only if you tell us what you know,” Tony growled. Maybe he thought he was in a noir film.

“Sure,” the man said, easily. “I’m Phil, by the way. Coulson.”

“I’ll have the L.A. office send a car,” Tony said, sending the page.

“Who’s your partner?” Bucky asked while they waited.

“Fury. I feel really lucky to have been assigned a partner with so much experience.”

 

*

 

As it turned out, Coulson didn’t know much. But he did get them into the top secret autopsy room at USC, which was above their clearance.

“Holy Yoda,” Tony exclaimed at the sight of the alien. “This is the real thing.”

“It’s not the right kind,” Bucky said, with relief.

Tony looked up at him. “And what kind is that? Do tell, Ripley.”

“Not the kind from _Alien_ , for sure,” Bucky tried to pretend he was joking.

“Uh huh.” But the alien corpse was much more interesting to Tony than getting an explanation out of Bucky. Besides, he could do that later.

While Tony gave Coulson a heart attack by trying his best to tamper with evidence, Bucky put in a quick phone call to Gabe. “Do you know where your son is?”

Gabe laughed. “Which one?”

“The SHIELD agent.”

Gabe sighed. “What’s he done this time?”

“Maybe gone rogue, maybe just following a lead so important he ditched his partner.”

“Again?” Bucky tried not to laugh. “You need him for something?” Gabe asked.

“Trying to follow his lead.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Gabe said, and hung up.

 

*

 

A little over an hour later, Bucky, Tony, and Goose were sitting in Poncho’s Bar in Rosemond, looking at a jukebox that had been obliterated and a bartender who refused to talk about it. Tony had given Coulson his pager number before they’d left him in L.A., but he was still surprised when his pager went off. “He says Fury just told them he’s stuck in a holding area at the NASA facility. With the target.”

“Why is he telling us?” Bucky asked, suiting up.

“Says the chief’s been acting funny all day. He has a feeling about it.”

Bucky shrugged. “Let’s go.”

It was hard fitting Goose inside their armor, but harder still to keep track of her in the maze of tight security at the secret base. “What do you mean she ran away?” Tony asked Bucky for the third time.

“She’s a cat. I don’t tell her what to do!” Pretty soon they were too busy with the Benny Hill-like chase that was going on from level to level. In the pursuit, Bucky heard some of the agents use phrases he didn’t feel comfortable with coming from SHIELD, like “dead or alive” and “eliminate target.” By the end, he was relieved to hear both Fury and the target had escaped.

Tony might have followed after Fury, but he wanted to find the cat first. He looked high and low. And while he did so, Bucky had a little chat with the remaining SHIELD agents, referring two of them to Agent Carter for Hydra debriefing.

“Wanna see the top secret file they were looking for?” Tony asked Bucky, sitting at the edge of the landing strip when it was all done.

“Sure.” Bucky sat down next to him.

“Project Pegasus. I bet even the old man didn’t know about this one.”

“What is it?” Bucky peered over Tony’s shoulder, but the notes didn’t make any sense.

“Light speed.” Tony tapped the blueprint. “This is five years old, can you believe it?”

“No, I can’t,” Bucky said. How had they never heard of this? How had SHIELD kept it secret from Hydra?

“Other than that, I’m tired and I can’t find my cat,” Tony complained, closing the file.

“Let’s go home,” Bucky said, resting his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “The girls should be back from camp soon.”

“At least I got to see an alien’s wang today,” Tony said, as Bucky helped him up.

“How do you know it was a wang?” Bucky asked.

“Trust me,” Tony said, smug. “I know.”

 

*

 

They had just dropped the girls off at school the next morning, when Peggy called again. “Another atmospheric breach, different signatures this time.”

“What is this? Alien invasion week?” Tony asked.

But Bucky could tell Tony was excited. The part that really bothered Bucky was that he didn’t remember any of this. Either it hadn’t made the news the last time, or it hadn’t been interesting enough for Hydra agents to talk about it.

 

*

 

There was nothing in Louisiana but another dead alien in a shack. “I’m starting to feel like these aren’t the bad guys,” Bucky said.

“I think you may be onto something, Watson,” Tony said, bending down next to the body.

“Why do I have to be Watson?” Bucky asked.

“Because you’re the pretty one.” Tony waggled his eyebrows. “And you’re usually on top.”

Bucky wasn’t sure how it was possible to be embarrassed in front of a corpse, but he managed.

They tracked the stolen shuttle’s tracks to a cozy family home just a short way down the road. When they knocked, the door was opened by a spritely girl close in age to their own. “Hey, I know you! You’re Tony Stark!” She turned to Bucky. “And you’re the beardy guy who’s his special friend. Mom and Auntie Carol are special friends, too, but they told me ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

“Holy shit.” _Does this kid ever stop to breathe?_ Bucky wondered.

“Oooo, you said a bad word!”

“Okay, you got us, peanut,” Tony said. “Guilty as charged. You know our names, but is it ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ for yours?”

“I’m Monica,” she smiled. “I’m gonna ask grandma if you can come eat breakfast. Grandmama!” She turned and ran further into the house.

“What do you think, beardy friend?” Tony nudged Bucky. “Should we stay for breakfast?”

In the end, they did. Bucky was helping clean up when Tony called him out into the yard. “They’re back!” He pointed at the jet trails above. “Let’s go!”

Bucky saw what Tony was about to do just in time. “Babe!” He gestured at the civilians watching them. Reluctantly, Tony made their apologies and speed-walked down the road to a secluded group of trees to suit up. By then, the shuttle and its alien pursuer were halfway to New Mexico.

As they rushed to catch up, Bucky saw another craft coming down faster than gravity. “Keep going,” he told Tony. “I’ll find you.” Moving to intercept the other craft, Bucky could see two objects coming down: a spaceship following a predictable landing trajectory, and a body falling straight for the ground. _A body?_    

It looked like a woman. And she was either unconscious, or she wasn’t worried about impact. Bucky rushed to at least slow her fall. “That’s not a Kree uniform,” the woman told him calmly, when Bucky started pushing her away from falling to her death.

“Is that what those aliens are called?” Bucky asked.

“That’s what those aliens are called,” she pointed up at the sky. If there were aliens there, Bucky couldn’t see them. “Thanks for the help,” she told him. “But I don’t need it. Nice meeting you!” And she was gone, blasting off into the atmosphere leaving a trail of light behind her.

 _So much for that._ “How’s it going, Tony?” Bucky asked over the comm link.

“Looks like they had it under control,” Tony said. “I think they’re heading back to Louisiana.”

“Should we just head home?” Bucky asked, feeling like they were trampling someone else’s storyline.

“And miss meeting a real live alien?” Tony said. “Fat chance. Besides, I wanna set up a playdate for Monica and the girls.”

“They could use more friends,” Bucky agreed.

“She has two moms, they have two dads, I’m sure they’ll be best friends in no time.”

 

*

 

When the crew of the shuttle finally disembarked, Tony and Bucky were both surprised to see-- “Goose!” Bucky ran over to meet her.

“Mroa.” She did not look happy to be picked up.

“Bad cat! No flying into space without dad,” Tony told her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky watched the passengers offboard. There were quite a few of the pointy-eared aliens, along with a human pilot. “Mom!” Monica ran out of the house to throw her arms around the woman.

There was also...“Nick Fury?” Bucky had not expected to see him on the ship, either.

“Bucky Barnes?” Nick stumbled a little. He seemed to have sustained an eye injury from the ordeal.

“What’s wrong with you people?” An alien with an Australian accent said when he saw Bucky holding Goose. “How can you put those things so close to your face?”

“Let me guess,” Tony said. “You’re more of a dog person?”

Before the alien could respond, Goose started to gag like she had a hairball, and the aliens scattered like the cat was a grenade. “Uh. You MIGHT want to step back,” Nick warned them.

“Aww, she’s just got a ouchie tummy. Don’t you, baby? Here, come to dad,” Tony reached to take her from Bucky.

“She’ll throw up on your Nikes,” Bucky warned, but Tony insisted on taking her anyway. It took almost a minute for Goose to void her stomach. When she did, a vibranium bag shot out of her mouth. “What the...hell?” Bucky bent down to pick it up. “How does a cat eat an infinity stone?”

“Flerken!” one of the aliens shouted from behind a tree.

Bucky stared at Goose in disbelief. She would have had to swim to the bottom of the river and keep this in her stomach for years… “Diddums feel all better?” Tony cooed at her, oblivious. “Yes, tumtum’s all better now, dad!”

Goose rubbed around Tony’s legs, happy. Then she sat and looked at the sky, meowing at it. A second later, the flying woman landed in the midst of them. “Auntie Carol!” Monica ran over to hug the flying woman.

“Everything under control, Sergeant Trouble?” Carol asked.

“Guess what! Tony Stark came over for breakfast! And mom flew a spaceship! Then Goose threw up, but Talos got scared!”

“That sounds amazing! Is anyone else hungry? I’m starving,” Carol said, walking over to Monica’s mother and placing her hand on the woman’s back with a warm smile.

Both alien and human passengers alike followed Carol and her friend into the house, ostensibly to eat something. Goose leapt from Tony’s arms to chase them inside. But Bucky stopped Tony before he could follow. “Are you sure we’re welcome?” Bucky asked.  

Before Tony could answer, a transport spell disc lit up the night beside them. “Oh no,” Bucky said. It couldn’t be good news.

“What’s ‘oh no’?” Tony asked, summoning his gauntlets and arming repulsor beams. He stepped between Bucky and the spell. When the gateway opened and they could see the person on the other side, Tony dropped his arms. “Are you there, god? It’s me, Telly Savalas.”

The Ancient One ignored him as they stepped through the spell to Louisiana. “You are out of time,” they told Bucky. “You must return immediately.”

Tony gripped Bucky’s flesh hand hard enough to hurt. “Give me another day,” Bucky asked. There are so many things he has to warn them all about. He wasn’t expecting to have to leave so soon.

“This cannot be. There cannot be two in the same time.” The Ancient One indicated the Eye of Agamotto hanging around their neck.

“But right now? I can’t even leave a message behind, say goodbye to anybody?” Bucky asked.

“The longer you stay, the more you endanger this world.”

Bucky looked at Tony. “Just one more minute.” He sprinted inside the house to talk to Carol.

“He has a family, you know,” Tony told them. “You’ll be breaking 12 little girls’ hearts.”

 

*

 

Inside, Bucky grabbed the first paper and writing implement he found. It was a crayon and coloring book, but they would have to do. “This is a guy who’s gonna destroy half of all life in the universe,” he told Carol in a rush. “He’s from Titan. I’m thinking maybe you could take him.” Bucky tore out the page with ‘Thanos’ written on it and handed it to her.

“But all the Titans died,” Talos said.

“I have to go!” Bucky ran out, afraid he’d get back to find the Ancient One had turned Tony into a frog for his smart mouth. “I’m sorry!”

 

*

 

“Then it seems he’s already done significant damage to this timeline,” the Ancient One said to Tony. “We can wait no longer.”

Bucky emerged to find the sorcerer beginning a spell gesture. He could feel the Time stone moving inside his shirt. “Wait!” he shouted, running toward Tony. “If you find the Tesseract, put it in the highest security prison you can. Kill anyone that uses it as a gateway.”

“It’s time,” the Ancient One said.  

Bucky gritted his teeth as the stone jumped into his metal arm. “Don’t go to Afghanistan,” he warned Tony. “AIM is Hydra lite.”

Was Tony even listening to him? He just kept reaching for Bucky like he could keep him here with sad eyes alone, but the sorcerer stood between them. God, what else was Bucky forgetting? “Don’t create Ultron, he becomes Skynet. If the King of Wakanda ever speaks at the U.N., there will be a bomb outside the building--”

But the Ancient One wasn’t waiting for Bucky anymore. He could feel it, they’d triggered the Time stone spell without him. “Take care of yourself, Tony--you matter!”

“I love you!” Tony shouted as Bucky dematerialized.

There wasn’t even time for him to tell Tony, “I know.” Maybe it would have made Tony smile a little.


	14. I Heard Today Was the Second Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky goes back to the future to see if he actually changed anything.

Bucky’s not sure when the Ancient One sent him. If the space-time continuum is so important, he should have been sent back to the exact time and place he left. Bucky doesn’t recognize his surroundings. If anything, this looks like the upstate New York forest he remembers traveling to in 1991. Is that what happened? Did he loop? _No, it can’t be._

Turning west, Bucky starts to run. If the Avengers complex is still here, it should be somewhere within a mile or so. It should be easy to see. Something inside him makes Bucky run faster, his heart pumping; Bucky’s in a near-panic. What if it didn’t work? What if Thanos won? What if Tony died anyway?

Then he hears a familiar sound; one he knows well: the sound of boot-jets. Bucky sprints toward it. Just moments and he can see the familiar red and gold armor through the trees. Bucky gasps and has to stop, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He’s so relieved.

Tony lands with a thud, the bleeding edge visor skittering back from his face to reveal an older version of the Tony Bucky just left. It’s a weird feeling, Tony is both familiar and foreign, beloved and unknown. “Howdy, stranger. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

“You’re alive,” Bucky pants, still unable to catch his breath.

“Last I checked, yeah,” Tony replies sarcastically. “Something wrong, cupcake?”

Bucky’s starting to wonder if Tony remembers him. “Thanos...what happened?”

“I never met him, but word in the galaxy is your friend Carol kicked his ass. She dated one of his daughters for a while, as I recall.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, they’re the good guys now.”

“The gauntlet?” Bucky has to make sure.

“Never completed. Not a thing.”

“Ultron?”

“I don’t know what that is, but really weak branding on the name. If you made it up, you need to try harder.”

Now that the major dangers are covered, Bucky’s worries turn to the children he left behind.“The girls. Are they--?”

“All Avengers? And how. They kind of grabbed the idea and ran with it. It was touch and go for a while; Kitty, Maria, Tatiana, and Anna all decided they wanted to marry Erik at the same time...but we made it through.”

“Erik...he’s an Avenger, too?”

“Are you kidding? He was our Professor X for a while, cured Bruce’s Gamma poisoning. But now he’s the American liaison to Wakanda, which is a bigger job.”

“Wow.”

“Are you gonna keep giving me the third degree, or is it time to kiss me?” Tony asks, sounding slightly put out. “That’s alright. I’ve only been waiting 30 years, you know.”

“You waited for--” But Bucky’s words are cut off by Tony’s impatient lips. It’s hard for Bucky to believe. If Tony really did wait for him, then Bucky has the sinking feeling he definitely screwed up Tony’s future. Selfishly, Bucky can’t deny it feels good to touch Tony again. He didn’t think he’d be able to. Bucky gently swats Tony’s armor until the nanites roll back into their housing. “You feel good.”

“So do you, sugarlump. God, I’ve missed you.” Bucky can’t take the pain in Tony’s voice. He cradles Tony’s face in his hands, kissing him gently over and over. “Can we fuck yet?” Tony asks.  

Bucky slowly opens his eyes, realizing. “You’re naked.”

“You’re observant. I like that in a husband.”

Bucky’s nervous at the word. Not because he hasn’t been committed to Tony for years, but because of what Tony’s future should have been. “What about...Pepper?”

“Ms. Potts? She runs Starktech East, mostly out of the Tokyo offices. Why do you ask?”

Bucky’s not sure what to do with that information. So they were never together? Or is Tony holding out on him? “So did you... and Steve?” If Tony didn’t end up with Pepper in the future, the only other option Bucky can think of is...Tony had told Bucky himself how much he’d always pined over Steve Rogers.

“Yeah. About that…” Bucky doesn’t like the sound of this already. Tony loops his arm through Bucky’s and starts to lead him back toward the complex. “Last year Steve got a yen to do some time traveling--don’t ask me where he got the idea from, my lips were sealed. Anyhoo, I guess he didn’t want any of us to know, because instead of asking for MY help--which any rational person would do--or asking Stevens or the princess, or Monica over at NASA--he got this genius--and I use that term very sarcastically--this genius idea to ask Hank Pym for help. Well, the short version of the story--”

“Hey, dad, where’d you go?” Tony is suddenly wearing pants as a slightly-older-looking Peter Parker meets them at the edge of the forest. He’s bouncing a familiar-looking toddler on his hip.

“Oh god.” _It can’t be._

“What, did I do something wrong?” Peter is immediately paranoid. “I swear, Mr. Stark, whatever it is, I’ll fix it. I didn’t mean to--”

“Whoa, slow your roll, Speed Racer,” Tony tells him, placing a hand on Peter’s arm. “Your apologies are unnecessary, as per usual.”

“Sorry--I mean, I’m really sorry. Sorry!” Peter can’t seem to stop apologizing.

“Bucky!” the baby shouts, pointing at Bucky.

“Stevie, what did you _do_?” Bucky asks him. But Steve has no answers apart from spit bubbles. Bucky takes him from Peter, because, as always, he feels responsible for Steve.

“Yeah, so as you can see, our Man with a Plan has been replaced by Dances with Diapers here. Fortunately, Wilson has been flying high in his new position,” Tony finishes.

“Oh, pun!” Peter groans.

“Hey. I’m your dad, I’m supposed to make bad puns.” Tony musses Peter’s hair affectionately. “Thanks for that, by the way,” Tony tells Bucky. “You never gave it to me, but I found ‘May and Peter Parker, Queens’ written on a note tucked into your riding jacket.”

Bucky ducks his head. “I figured if anyone could find ‘em, you could.” Wait. Peter is calling him dad? Does this mean Tony married May?

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you: Aunt May and Uncle Ben are coming over for dinner Friday. That’s okay, right? I told them it was okay, but if it’s not, I can totally cancel.” Peter and Tony seem to have the same run-on-sentence disease.

Tony nods. “That’s fine, junior. We can test out Dum-E and U’s new culinary programming.”

From the look on Peter’s face, Bucky can tell this is a bad idea. “Oh no! That’s--that’s okay, Mr. Stark--”

“Don’t worry,” Tony grins. “We’ll order in.”

“Oh, okay, thanks. Yeah, that’s--good idea.”

The complex looks different. There’s a clearing in the distance, but it’s not a huge one, like the one he remembers around the Avengers complex. In fact, it’s not much bigger than what one would need to land a helicopter. Beyond it are structures built into the trees. It looks like a high-tech Ewok village. “You kept the trees,” Bucky says in wonder.

“Hey, Starktech is very green now. You’d be proud of us,” Tony tells him. Across the helipad, Bucky sees movement down one of the thick tree trunks. It’s an elevator. Once it reaches ground level, a small horde steps out and begins running toward them.

“ _Soldat!”_

_“Soldat! Soldat!”_

“Damn, they’re so big.” Bucky can feel his heart clenching. Can those be his little girls?

“You think they’re big now. Wait till you see them in their armor,” Tony says.

Bucky can’t imagine any villain would stand a chance against these women, armor or no armor. He passes the baby back to Peter and meets his girls halfway with both arms free.

“What happened to you?” Yelena wants to know.

“Why aren’t you old?” Maria asks.

“We missed you,” Natasha says, throwing her arms around Bucky’s waist and clinging.

“I missed you guys, too.” Bucky was not expecting such an emotional homecoming. They must be older than he looks now. His brain is having trouble processing it.

“Hey, any of you know where I can find white Jesus? I heard today was the second coming.” Bucky recognizes Erik by his golden panther armor. He’s a man Bucky only knew through images in the other future, and he bears little resemblance to the boy Bucky knew in Oakland.

“Erik?”

“Most people call me N’Jadaka now.” The prince smiles, extending his arm for a warm greeting. “But since you’ve been gone a few decades, you get a pass.”

“You made it.” Bucky’s torn between his instinct to hug the little boy he knew and his understanding that that’s no way to greet royalty. He grips N’Jadaka’s forearm, feeling emotional.

“Hey, I wouldn’t miss it,” the prince grins.

 _“White Woooooooooolf!”_ a woman’s voice sing-songs in Xhosa. Bucky takes off running in the direction of her voice, no more slowly than Lassie answering Timmy’s call. It’s been so long...years…

A doorway of light appears to open in thin air, and Shuri steps through with a mischievous smile. Bucky doesn’t even care about the new technology, he’s so happy to see her. “Princess!”

She laughs, letting him hug her. Shuri is older than he remembers, but undeniably the same woman. “Did you have fun in the past, Doctor Who?”

“It was worth it,” Bucky smiles, stepping back. “It was all worth it.” Two people are alive now who weren’t before. Skipping Armageddon doesn’t sound so bad, either.

Behind Shuri, a Tibetan transport spell disc appears. “Party crasher!” the princess shouts when Doctor Strange steps through.

Strange looks taken aback, but only for a moment. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind.”

“Help yourself.” Bucky could care less about the stone.

Strange levitates the stone out of Bucky’s arm, and the intense pain Bucky’s been sublimating this whole time suddenly disappears. “I believe you have a gift, Sergeant,” Strange says. “If you’d ever care to learn the mystic arts, I might be persuaded to teach you.”

“Yeah, sure.” It’s hard to take Strange seriously, especially with Shuri standing behind him making faces. “I mean, probably not. But thanks,” Bucky tells him.

“Your disinterest is noted,” Strange says, before disappearing again.

“Hi.” Tony walks up behind Bucky. “Feeling a little left out here.”

“Someone’s jealous!” Shuri laughs.  

“We can give them a minute,” N’Jadaka says, surrounded by the women of the Red Room. “Cousin T should be here soon. He said he was gonna bring take-out from the Golden City for dinner to celebrate.”

“That street vendor I like?” Shuri asks.

“Is he bringing that awesome puff puff again?” Peter asks. Food and royalty is clearly more interesting than Tony and Bucky. They’re suddenly alone as the others head back toward the complex.

“Welcome home, soldier.” Why is Tony standing so far away? Bucky can’t help it this time when a tear or two comes. “Hey now, sugarplum.” Tony steps forward to catch a tear on his finger. “What’s with the waterworks?”

“Just let me hold you,” Bucky whispers, afraid the tears will show in his voice if he speaks any louder. “I wasn’t even sure you were gonna be here.” He shouldn’t tell Tony that. That he didn’t make it the first time around. “Much less…”

“Much less what?” Tony looks up at him. “Get me to a nunnery for decades?”

Bucky shrugs. There are reporters in an alternate timeline who would eat their shoes before they’d believe Tony Stark had ever been celibate.

“Now don’t get me wrong, 30 years is a long time to wait.”

“It’s fine,” Bucky tells him, anticipating Tony’s confession. “I never expected--”

“But some things are worth waiting for,” Tony says.

Bucky’s struck dumb for several heartbeats. “I love you.” It doesn’t matter if he says it now, right? This is a future he could never have hoped for, and yet. It’s here.

“I know,” Tony smirks.

 

_\---Fin---_


End file.
